George Santos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids George Santos
Official portrait, 2022
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd district
In office January 3, 2023 – December 1, 2023
Preceded by	Tom Suozzi
Succeeded by	Tom Suozzi
Personal details
Born	(1988-07-22) July 22, 1988 (age 37)
Political party	Independent (2024–present)
Other political affiliations	Republican (2019–2024)
Website	House website (archived)
Legal Information
Criminal status	Admitted to breaking rules
Conviction(s)	Brazil: Issues with checks United States: Misusing money and using information without permission
Criminal penalty	Was sentenced in April 2025

George Anthony Devolder Santos (born July 22, 1988) is a former American politician. He served as a U.S. representative for New York's 3rd district from January to December 2023. He was removed from his position after a vote by Congress.

Santos first ran for the seat in 2020 as a Republican but lost to the Democratic representative Tom Suozzi. In 2022, Santos ran again and won, defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman.

Soon after his election, news reports showed that Santos had not been truthful about his life story. He admitted to lying about his education and where he had worked. There were also many questions about his businesses and how he handled money.

After an investigation by the House Ethics Committee and facing legal charges, the House of Representatives voted 311–114 to expel Santos on December 1, 2023. He is one of only six members ever to be expelled from the House. In August 2024, Santos admitted in court that he had misused money and used someone's identity without permission. He was sentenced in April 2025 and began serving his sentence in July 2025.

Early Life and Education

George Anthony Devolder Santos was born on July 22, 1988. His parents were both from Brazil. He has a younger sister named Tiffany.

Santos has said his family was poor when he was a child. They lived in a basement apartment in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York.

Santos earned a GED, which is a certificate that is equal to a high school diploma. He went to Intermediate School 125 in Woodside, Queens, and Primary School 122 in Astoria.

Early Career

From 2011 to 2012, Santos worked at a call center for Dish Network. He helped customers who spoke Portuguese. Later, he worked for a travel technology company called HotelsPro.

In 2020, Santos began working for a company called Harbor City Capital. The U.S. government later accused this company of being a dishonest investment plan. Santos has said he did not know about any wrongdoing.

Around 2021, Santos started his own company called the Devolder Organization. He gave different and sometimes conflicting stories about what the company did and how much money it made. This led to many questions from the public and investigators.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020 Campaign

In 2019, Santos announced he would run for Congress as a Republican. He was running against the current representative, Tom Suozzi. Suozzi was expected to win easily, and he did. He defeated Santos with 56% of the vote.

2022 Campaign

Santos decided to run for Congress again in 2022. This time, Suozzi was not running for re-election. This gave Republicans a better chance to win the seat. Santos ran against the Democratic candidate, Robert Zimmerman.

During the campaign, a local newspaper raised questions about Santos's background and finances. However, these stories did not get much attention until after the election. Santos won the election, which helped the Republican Party take control of the House of Representatives. After his victory, many news outlets began to report that Santos had lied about large parts of his life.

Time in Congress

George Santos's office for serving his district in Douglaston, New York, in 2023

Shortly after Santos took office in January 2023, several other Republican members of Congress from New York called for him to resign. The head of the Nassau County Republican Party also said Santos should resign, stating he had "disgraced the House of Representatives."

Santos refused to step down. At first, he had the support of House Republican leaders. He was given positions on two committees: the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. However, he stepped down from these committees a few weeks later.

Expulsion from Congress

How the House of Representatives voted on expelling George Santos. Blue colors show Democratic votes and red colors show Republican votes.

Because of the many questions about his past and his finances, some members of Congress tried to remove Santos from his job. The first attempt to expel him failed in November 2023.

However, the House Ethics Committee released a report with more information about his actions. After this report, another vote was held. On December 1, 2023, the House of Representatives voted 311–114 to expel Santos. This is a very rare event in U.S. history. He became the first Republican and only the sixth member ever to be expelled from the House.

Untrue Statements About His Life

After his election, The New York Times and other news outlets reported that Santos had made many false statements about his life. At first, his lawyer denied it. But soon, Santos admitted that he had lied. He said, "I'm not a fraud. I'm not a criminal who defrauded the entire country."

Family and Background

On his campaign website, Santos claimed his mother was a top executive at a financial company. He also said she was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks and survived. He claimed she died a few years later because of the attack.

However, records showed this was not true. His mother had stated on a visa application that she had not been in the U.S. since 1999. Friends and family said she worked as a housekeeper and cook.

Education and Work

Santos made several false claims about his education. He said he attended the Horace Mann School, a top private school, but the school had no record of him. He also lied about graduating from Baruch College with a degree in finance and economics. He later admitted he had never graduated from any college.

He also lied about his work history. He called himself a "seasoned Wall Street financier" and claimed to have worked for big companies like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Both companies said they had no record of him ever working there.

Questions About Campaign Money

There were many serious questions about how Santos's campaign raised and spent money. He was accused of using campaign funds for personal expenses. These included expensive meals, luxury clothing, and vacations.

His campaign's financial reports were filled with unusual entries. For example, there were many expenses listed for exactly $199.99. This amount is one cent below the $200 limit where campaigns are legally required to provide receipts and more details. This led experts to believe the campaign was trying to hide how it was spending money.

Investigators also found that the sources of large amounts of money for his campaign were unclear. This included a loan of more than $700,000 that Santos said he gave to his own campaign.

Legal Consequences

In May 2023, Santos was charged with breaking several federal laws. The charges included misusing campaign funds, wrongly receiving unemployment money during the COVID-19 pandemic, and lying on official forms he submitted to Congress. He at first pleaded not guilty.

In October 2023, prosecutors added ten more charges against him. These new charges were related to misusing donor credit cards and lying to national Republican party officials.

On August 19, 2024, Santos changed his plea. He admitted in court that he was guilty of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. This was part of a deal with prosecutors. In April 2025, a judge sentenced him for his actions. He began serving his sentence in July 2025.

After Congress

Just days after being expelled from Congress, Santos began selling personalized videos on the website Cameo. His videos quickly became very popular.

Comedian Jimmy Kimmel paid Santos for several videos and showed them on his late-night TV show. Santos then sued Kimmel and the TV network ABC for using the videos. In August 2024, a judge dismissed the lawsuit. The judge said Kimmel's actions were a form of political commentary, which is protected by law.

Electoral history

See also

In Spanish: George Santos para niños