Liar, liar — podcast on fire.
Lying former Long Island Rep. George Santos’ legal team has argued that the sentencing in his sprawling fraud case, set for next month, should be pushed back because he desperately needs more time to release episodes of his podcast “Pants on Fire.”
Attorneys for Santos, 36, claimed that the podcast revenue will help him pay off the over half a million dollars worth of fines stemming from the fraud case, which included charges of stealing campaign donor identities, embezzlement and illegally racking up thousands on supporter credit cards.
But prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York fired back in a court filing Tuesday, casting serious doubt on the assertion that Santos has barely more than $1,000 in cash on hand. “Despite earning more than $800,000 (and, prior to that, maintaining a $174,000 publicly-funded salary as a Congressman), Santos has claimed to the Probation Department that he has little more than $1,000 in liquid assets,” prosecutors chided.
“No explanation is given in Santos’s letter for how those funds were spent. The Court should have serious misgivings about postponing Santos’s sentencing based on his purported failure to save $578,752.94 after having previously claimed in the media to earn $80,000 per day capitalizing on his notoriety.”
The disgraced Republican former lawmaker secured a “promising revenue stream” last August with his podcast, but wasn’t able to launch the show until the middle of last month due to “technical and logistical impediments,” Santos’ lawyers claimed.
Meanwhile, as Santos seeks to delay his sentencing until August from Feb. 7, the fabulist has publicly insisted that he’s not angling for a pardon from President-elect Donald Trump.
Santos pleaded guilty in August of last year to charges of identity theft and wire fraud and was ordered to pay nearly $580,000 in fines.
He faces a mandatory minimum two-year prison sentence and a maximum of 22 years beind bars.
Should Santos fail to pony up the cash, the feds could confiscate some of his property.
“Mr. Santos now has a viable path to making meaningful progress in satisfying his obligations, requiring only additional time for the quarterly compensation structure to generate sufficient funds,” Santos’ attorney wrote in the Friday court.
But prosecutors insisted that Santos’ “inability to satisfy his forfeiture and restitution obligations prior to sentencing does not provide a valid basis to delay sentencing.”
“The government has the ability to pursue satisfaction of Santos’s forfeiture obligations after sentencing has concluded, and any purported financial inability to pay the full amount should not delay sentencing,” prosecutors wrote.
Moreover, the government expressed skepticism that the podcast will ultimately help Santos clear his debts.
“Santos’ claim that his financial circumstances will have improved enough in the next six months to satisfy his forfeiture and restitution obligations is extremely speculative. His letter fails to provide any accounting of his current financial condition; fails to offer any explanation of his dissipation of assets (including personal spending) in the months since his guilty plea,” prosecutors argued.
They also pointed out that a report from the Probation Department suggested that Santos’ compensation from the podcast will “consist of 50% of net profits” and “be paid within 90 days of the end of each calendar quarter.”
“That arrangement is highly unlikely to net Santos enough money to satisfy his restitution and forfeiture obligations by August.”
In addition to the newly launched podcast with co-host Naja Hall, Santos has also cut clips on the celebrity video-sharing platform Cameo to sell to the public to line his pockets.
Santos has fessed up to lying about large swaths of his background and became just the sixth House of Representatives member to be expelled from the lower chamber in December of 2023.
A blistering report from the House Committee on Ethics concluded that Santos “blatantly stole from his campaign” and lied to donors. Examples of his eye-bulging expenses with that cash include purchases of Botox, OnlyFans subscriptions and more.
In light of Santos’ history, prosecutors warned that going easy on him could set a bad precedent.
“The Court should deny Santos’s request to adjourn sentencing because doing so would create a perverse incentive structure, rewarding defendants who seek to capitalize on their notoriety and criminality,” prosecutors emphasized.
“Allowing Santos to stave off sentencing specifically to monetize his infamy would send a message to the public that crime pays,” they went on. “Delaying sentencing to give him further time to grow his podcast listenership would enable Santos to further use his criminal prosecution for personal benefit.”
