George Santos’ ex-fundraiser is sentenced to a year in prison for wire
fraud
[March 08, 2025]
By PHILIP MARCELO
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — A former campaign fundraiser for ex- U.S.
Rep. George Santos was sentenced Friday to one year and one day in
prison for impersonating a high-ranking congressional aide while raising
cash for the disgraced New York Republican.
Sam Miele, speaking briefly in federal court on Long Island, apologized
to everyone he had “let down,” including family and friends.
“What I did was wrong. Plain and simple,” he said, vowing he would never
be involved with the criminal justice system again.
But when pushed by Judge Joanna Seybert to explain why he had committed
such brazen fraud despite his privileged upbringing, Miele only
responded that he had been a “different person" back then.
“It was a terrible mistake,“ the 28-year-old New Jersey native, who
graduated from St. John’s University in Queens, said. “That’s all I can
say about that.”
Miele declined to comment after the hearing, but his lawyer said he
believed the sentence was “fair and appropriate” and his client was
looking to put the case behind him.
“This is what happens when you associate with the wrong people,"
attorney Kevin Marino said.
Miele pleaded guilty in 2023 to a single count of federal wire fraud for
his role in the criminal case that led to Santos’ expulsion from office.
He admitted that in 2021 he solicited donations under the name Dan
Meyer, then-chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, a California
Republican who went on to serve less than a year as House speaker before
leaving Congress in 2023.
Prosecutors said Miele’s impersonation included setting up a dummy email
address resembling Meyer’s name while reaching out to over a dozen
donors.
Miele also acknowledged he committed access device fraud by charging
donors' credit cards without authorization to send money to the
campaigns of Santos and other political candidates, and for his own
personal use. That fraud totaled about $100,000, prosecutors have said.
Miele faced more than two years in prison, but Marino argued in court on
Friday that he should be sentenced to home confinement, along with
“substantial“ community service and therapy.
He said Miele was “deserving of leniency and a second chance” because he
promptly accepted responsibility for his actions, gave “full-throated
cooperation” in the government’s investigation of Santos and was willing
to testify against his former boss.
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Samuel Miele, left, leaves federal court in Central Islip, N.Y.,
with his lawyer, Kevin Marino, on Tuesday, Nov 14, 2023. (John
Roca/Newsday via AP, File)
“He’s remorseful beyond words,” Marino said. “His name is forever
linked to a disgraced congressman. All he’s done is overshadowed by
this.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Zuckerwise argued that a prison
sentence was necessary to deter others in the campaign fundraising
world from committing similar crimes.
“We’re here not just because of one mistake, but multiple mistakes,”
she said, noting that an 85-year-old suffering from memory loss was
among Miele's victims.
Miele, in his plea deal, agreed to pay about $109,000 in
restitution, to forfeit another $69,000 and to make a $470,000
payment to a campaign contributor.
Miele was one of two campaign aides to reach a plea deal in the
federal probe into Santos’ winning campaign.
Nancy Marks, Santos' former campaign treasurer, pleaded guilty to a
fraud conspiracy charge. She faces sentencing in May.
Santos, for his part, is due to be sentenced next month after
pleading guilty last August to wire fraud and aggravated identity
theft, just weeks before he was to stand trial last year.
The 36-year-old admitted he stole multiple people’s credit card
numbers and charged them for donations to his campaign, used
campaign cash on designer clothing and other personal expenses,
falsely collected unemployment benefits while working and lied about
his personal wealth in a financial disclosure to Congress.
The then-political unknown gained notoriety for flipping a
congressional district that covered a wealthy swath of Queens and
Long Island in 2022.
But his fantastical lies about his wealth and background were
quickly debunked.
Among other things, Santos lied about having a career at top Wall
Street firms and a college degree. He also falsely claimed his
mother died in the 9/11 attacks and that his grandparents fled the
Holocaust.
Less than a year after taking office, Santos was expelled from the
U.S. House, becoming just the sixth ever booted from the chamber.
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