“Now more than ever, a commitment to transparency and accountability is key to ensuring that candidates and elected officials serve the public, not their own interests,” said one campaign finance reform advocate

Government ethics watchdogs on Friday said the sentencing of former Republican congressman George Santos to more than seven years in prison for fraud was a victory for “the many voters and donors who were deceived” by the disgraced lawmaker.

“Santos’ brazen fraud and misconduct, which included serious violations of federal campaign finance laws, was an affront to his constituents, his donors, and the integrity of our democracy,” said Saurav Ghosh, director of campaign finance reform at the Campaign Legal Center. “The fact that he was held accountable should speak loudly to anyone contemplating similar actions aimed at exploiting the democratic process for personal gain.”

Santos received his 87-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in the Eastern District of New York eight months after he pleaded guilty to two felony counts and admitted to using his campaign fundraising operation for personal gain.

The former New York congressman, who flipped a blue seat in a Long Island district in 2022 and was charged by prosecutors just months later, admitted to submitting false reports to the Federal Election Commission, stealing financial and personal information from elderly and cognitively impaired donors to fraudulently charge their credit cards, and using campaign contributions for luxury shopping and a hotel room in Las Vegas.

“The robust enforcement of campaign finance and ethics laws is critical to ensuring that our democracy works for everyday Americans, not politicians’ personal interests.”

Seybert said during the sentencing that Santos had committed “flagrant thievery” during his brief political career.

He is required to report to prison by July 25 and was also ordered to pay more than $373,000 in restitution.

“This accountability for his pattern of unethical and illegal conduct is a win for government ethics,” said Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Ghosh praised “the diligent enforcement efforts of the Office of Congressional Ethics, which helped bring about this result.”

“Now more than ever, a commitment to transparency and accountability is key to ensuring that candidates and elected officials serve the public, not their own interests,” said Ghosh. “The robust enforcement of campaign finance and ethics laws is critical to ensuring that our democracy works for everyday Americans, not politicians’ personal interests.”

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