Former Long Island Rep. George Santos surrenders to federal prison officials, Bureau of Prisons says

Convicted former Long Island Rep. George Santos, who was forced out of office for defrauding pandemic relief programs, lying on his congressional financial disclosure forms and stealing from campaign contributors, surrendered to federal prison authorities Friday afternoon to begin serving a 7-year sentence.

Santos turned himself in Friday afternoon.

"We can confirm George Devolder Santos is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Fairton in Fairton, New Jersey," the public affairs officer for the bureau said in a statement.

Fairton, located in South Jersey a four-hour drive from his former congressional district, holds 800 prisoners in the minimum security lockup. Santos will share the facility with Lamor Whitehead, also known as the "Bling Bishop," a Brooklyn clergyman with ties to Mayor Eric Adams who is currently serving 9 years for an investment fraud conviction.

Santos pleaded guilty in August to fraud charges, admitting to a series of schemes as he ran for elected office, including submitting fraudulent campaign finance reports and stealing from his donors’ credit cards. In April he was sentenced to 87 months in prison — just over 7 years.

Outspoken and colorful, Santos became a punchline on late-night television during his 11 months in office, as his explanations of his resume embellishments and faux personal history became increasingly outlandish.

Santos claimed to have attended Baruch College on a volleyball scholarship and obtained an MBA from New York University before admitting that he had never graduated from college.

The Brazilian-born Santos said that he had worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, but changed his story later, saying that he worked for another company that worked with the financial companies.

He told voters during the 2022 election that his grandparents were Jews who survived the Holocaust, but later said in an interview with The New York Post that he never claimed to be Jewish, but rather was "Jew-ish" because of his family background.

In 2023, he admitted stealing a checkbook and forging a check to pay for tennis shoes years earlier in Brazil. He was forced to pay more than $4,000 in restitution.

Disabled U.S. Navy veteran Richard Osthoff accused Santos of running a phony pet charity and swindling him out of money meant to pay for his sick dog’s surgery. The ex-politician never provided the funds and the dog, Sapphire, died, Osthoff said.

Santos' most serious legal trouble, however, began after his election, when many of his financial claims began to crumble under the spotlight brought by his previous lies.

Five months into his term, Breon Peace, then-U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, charged Santos with more than a dozen counts of defrauding campaign donors, filing false financial disclosure reports to Congress, and fraudulently accepting pandemic unemployment benefits despite being employed at the time.

Prosecutors said that he channeled campaign donations into a limited liability company that he controlled and used the money for designer clothes, paying personal debt and other expenses.

He claimed that he only earned $55,000 on his congressional financial disclosure form and did not disclose a salary he earned from a financial company, according to prosecutors.

After a 2023 House Ethics report that came to many of the same conclusions as federal prosecutors, the chamber voted to expel him, making him just the sixth congressman to be removed from office.

Santos, a Republican who beat Democratic candidate Robert Zimmerman for the vacant seat in the 3rd Congressional District in 2022, remained defiant up until he pleaded guilty in August.

Between his conviction and his sentencing, Santos earned extra money recording on Cameo, a platform that allows people to pay celebrities to recite birthday greetings and other personal messages for a price.

On Thursday, before he surrendered, Santos posted a dramatic farewell message on social media.

"Well, darlings ..." he said. "The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried ... most days. To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret worth it. To my critics: Thanks for the free press. I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit."