George Santos is an American politician who gained national attention for his controversial career and the numerous scandals surrounding his personal and professional life. Elected to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district, Santos quickly became one of the most talked-about figures in U.S. politics after revelations surfaced that he had fabricated large parts of his résumé, including details about his education, work history, and personal background. His story has sparked widespread debate about honesty, accountability, and the challenges facing modern political systems.
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Who Is George Santos?
George Anthony Devolder Santos is an American politician whose name became synonymous with one of the most shocking scandals in modern political history. Born on July 22, 1988, George Santos represented New York’s 3rd congressional district for just 11 months before being expelled from Congress in December 2023. His rise and fall represents an unprecedented case of deception in American politics, making him the first Republican ever expelled from the House of Representatives.
But Santos’ story doesn’t end with his expulsion. In a dramatic twist on October 17, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted his 87-month prison sentence, granting him immediate release just three months after he began serving time at FCI Fairton in New Jersey. This commutation has reignited debates about justice, political loyalty, and redemption in America.
What makes George Santos’ biography so compelling is not just what happened to him, but how much of his life story turned out to be false. From fabricated degrees to invented Wall Street careers, Santos constructed an entirely fictional version of himself before entering Congress. This article covers everything you need to know about George Santos, separating fact from the elaborate fiction he created.
George Santos Age: How Old Is He?
George Santos was born on July 22, 1988, which makes him 37 years old as of 2025. He celebrated his 37th birthday in July 2025 while in federal prison at FCI Fairton in New Jersey.
When Santos first entered Congress on January 3, 2023, he was 34 years old. His political career peaked almost immediately before collapsing within weeks of taking office. His rapid rise and equally swift downfall happened while he was still in his early thirties, making him one of the youngest politicians to experience such a dramatic fall from grace.
The contrast is striking: at an age when many young professionals are just hitting their stride, Santos was expelled from Congress, faced federal indictment, pleaded guilty to crimes, and served prison time. His age at the time of his crimes and conviction adds another layer to the story, as questions remain about how someone so young could orchestrate such an elaborate scheme of deception.
George Santos Height and Physical Appearance
George Santos stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall, or approximately 1.88 meters. His commanding height has been mentioned in multiple media profiles and public appearances. Santos’ 6’2″ stature contributes to his confident, recognizable public presence, though his physical appearance remains one of the most consistent and honest aspects of his public identity.
Throughout his controversial career and legal battles, his height has remained one of the few biographical facts Santos never disputed or fabricated. In the landscape of his numerous false claims and fabrications, his actual physical characteristics stand out as refreshingly authentic.
George Santos Education: Claims vs. Reality
This is where George Santos’ deception becomes most apparent. His fabricated educational background represents one of the central elements of his resume fraud and remains a key point in understanding how he managed to deceive voters and party leaders.
What George Santos Claimed
According to his official campaign materials and biography, George Santos claimed to hold:
- A Bachelor’s degree in finance and economics from Baruch College
- An MBA from New York University (NYU)
These credentials were prominently featured on his campaign website and in his official House biography. He used these false degrees to present himself as a financially educated professional with Ivy League credentials. This educational pedigree was crucial to his image as a successful Wall Street investor.
What’s Actually True
The reality is dramatically different. George Santos holds only a GED (General Educational Development certificate), which is a high school equivalency credential, not a college degree. He never attended Baruch College or New York University. Both institutions confirmed they have no records of Santos enrolling or graduating from their programs.
When confronted by journalists, Santos eventually admitted: “I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning.” This statement contradicted everything he had previously claimed about his educational background. His false educational credentials are just one piece of a much larger pattern of fabrication that characterized his entire biography.
Why This Matters
Santos’ educational fraud is significant because it undermines the very foundation of his credibility. Voters believed they were electing an educated, successful financier. Instead, they voted for someone who hadn’t completed college. This fabrication was particularly important because he used his fake Wall Street credentials to justify his political positions and economic policy stances.
George Santos Career: The Wall Street Myth
George Santos’ pre-political career reveals another layer of his elaborate deception. While he claimed to be a successful Wall Street executive, the truth was far less glamorous and substantially less fictional.
Fabricated Career Claims
Santos claimed to have worked for major financial institutions including:
- Goldman Sachs
- Citigroup
- Various other Wall Street firms
He presented himself as a seasoned financial professional with connections to the elite world of investment banking. These claims were central to his image as a successful businessman and self-made millionaire.
Real Jobs
The actual jobs George Santos held were considerably more modest:
Dish Network (2011-2012): Santos worked as a customer service representative at a call center in College Point, Queens. He was hired specifically for his ability to handle calls from Portuguese-speaking customers. This was far from the Wall Street glory he later described.
HotelsPro: He held a position with this hospitality company, though details remain limited about his specific responsibilities and duration.
Linkbridge Investors: Santos claimed various roles with this company, with questions about the legitimacy of some positions.
The Wall Street Narrative
The gap between Santos’ claimed and actual career is vast. He invented an entire professional identity as a Wall Street executive, complete with fictional job titles, companies, and accomplishments. This fabricated career was essential to his pitch as a successful businessman who could manage taxpayer money responsibly in Congress.
George Santos Family Background: From Brazil to Queens
Understanding George Santos’ family is crucial to understanding the person he became and the lies he told.
Parents and Heritage
George Santos was born to Fátima Alzira Caruso Horta Devolder and Gercino Antônio dos Santos Jr. (known as Junior). Both parents were born in Brazil, and the Santos family maintains strong Brazilian heritage and dual citizenship.
His maternal grandparents, Paulo Horta Devolder and Rosalina Caruso Horta Devolder, were also born in Brazil. Three of his four maternal great-grandparents were Brazilian, with one born in Belgium. This Brazilian heritage is a authentic part of Santos’ identity, even as much of his other biography proved false.
Mother’s Immigration Story
Fátima Devolder immigrated to Florida in 1985, working in agriculture. She later moved to New York City, where she worked various jobs as a housekeeper, cook, and nanny. Her journey represents the immigrant experience typical of many Brazilian families in New York.
Fátima struggled financially throughout her life, moving frequently due to unpaid rent and experiencing severe housing instability. She died before seeing the full consequences of her son’s crimes and lies, but her difficult circumstances stand in stark contrast to the wealthy upbringing Santos later claimed.
Father’s Absence
Gercino Santos Sr. worked as a house painter, another modest profession. The parents’ marriage appears to have ended by 1998, when records show Gercino remarried in his native state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Santos remained close to his mother but maintained only infrequent contact with his father.
Childhood in Queens
Despite his family’s financial struggles, relatives and friends recall that Santos’ parents and an aunt frequently bought him toys, dolls, and clothes despite their limited means. Santos grew up in a rat-infested basement apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, near a Brazilian immigrant enclave in Astoria.
According to his family and those who knew him, Santos developed a reputation during childhood for deceit and theft—early warning signs of the elaborate lies that would define his adult life.
Sister Tiffany
George Santos has a younger sister named Tiffany. While details about her remain largely private, her existence contradicts some of Santos’ fabrications about his family size and structure.
George Santos Wife and Husband: His Marriages Explained
George Santos’ personal relationships have been as controversial as his professional fabrications, involving complex questions about his identity and authenticity.
First Marriage: Uadla Vieira (2012-2019)
George Santos married Uadla Vieira, a Brazilian native, in 2012. The couple divorced in 2019. Their marriage lasted approximately seven years and occurred during a period when Santos was later open about his homosexuality.
Some analysts have questioned the nature of the marriage, noting it occurred while Santos was later publicly identifying as gay. Questions were raised about whether the marriage was genuine or potentially linked to immigration concerns, though Santos has denied any wrongdoing. The marriage remains a point of complexity in his personal history.
Current Husband: Matheus “Matt” Gerard (Married 2021)
After his divorce from Vieira, George Santos met Matheus Gerard, a Brazilian pharmacist. According to Santos’ own account, the couple met through a dating-app glitch on Grindr. They married in 2021 and have been together since.
In September 2023, Santos publicly referred to “my husband Matt” while posting a tribute, confirming their marriage to the public. The couple lives together in Queens with their dogs and shares private life moments through social media.
Matheus Gerard has remained largely out of the media spotlight despite his husband’s notoriety. He continued supporting Santos during his legal troubles and imprisonment, though the strain on their relationship is evident from limited public contact during Santos’ incarceration.
Children and Family Plans
As of 2025, George Santos does not have any children. He has not publicly identified as a father. However, Santos has expressed interest in starting a family in the future with his husband, Matheus Gerard. Despite his controversial career and legal consequences, Santos has occasionally discussed family values and his hopes for fatherhood in upcoming years.
George Santos Net Worth: Estimated Assets and Financial Reality
George Santos claimed to be a successful, wealthy businessman with substantial assets. However, his financial claims proved as fraudulent as his educational and career credentials.
Claimed Net Worth and Disclosures
According to his 2022 financial disclosures filed with the House of Representatives, Santos reported a net worth ranging from approximately $1 million to $11 million. He claimed:
- Bank accounts worth $1 million to $5 million
- Real estate in Brazil valued at $500,000 to $1 million
- Business interests worth $1 million to $5 million
These numbers were staggering for a freshman congressman, and many wondered how someone so young had accumulated such wealth. The answer: he largely hadn’t.
Actual Financial Reality
Investigations into Santos’ finances revealed significant discrepancies between his claimed and actual wealth. Many of the income sources he cited could not be verified. His business dealings with companies like Linkbridge Investors and others remained murky and questionable.
The reality of Santos’ financial situation suggests his wealth was substantially overstated. Many of his claimed assets appear to have been fabricated or vastly inflated, following the same pattern of deception that characterized his education and career claims.
Court-Ordered Restitution Impact
In April 2025, when Santos was sentenced, the court ordered him to pay:
- $373,749 in restitution to victims
- $205,002 in forfeiture to the government
These court-ordered payments total over $578,000, which would significantly impact whatever assets Santos actually possesses. These financial obligations represent consequences for his campaign finance fraud, in which he embezzled donor funds and filed fraudulent Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports.
Net Worth Summary
While estimates suggest George Santos’ net worth falls somewhere between $1 million and $11 million based on his claims, the actual figure is likely substantially lower when accounting for fraudulent assets, legal fees, and court-ordered payments. The truth is, no one can confidently state his real net worth because so much of his financial history is built on lies.
George Santos Scandal: The Revelations That Changed Everything
Within weeks of his election in November 2022, George Santos’ carefully constructed fictional life began to crumble. Journalists from The New York Times, CNN, and other major outlets began investigating his biography and uncovered systematic, widespread fabrication.
Timeline of Major Revelations
Late December 2022: The New York Times publishes an investigation revealing that much of Santos’ biography appeared to be fabricated. Stories of his grandparents hiding from the Holocaust during World War II couldn’t be verified. Claims about his mother being at the World Trade Center on 9/11 were questioned.
Early 2023: More revelations emerged about his false educational credentials, fake Wall Street career, and questionable financial claims. Santos admitted to lying about his education and employment history.
January 2023: Despite the growing scandal, Santos was sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives on January 3, 2023.
January-December 2023: Throughout his 11 months in Congress, Santos faced intense media scrutiny, demands for resignation from both Republicans and Democrats, and a formal House Ethics Committee investigation.
Categories of Fabrication
Santos’ lies fell into several categories:
Education Fraud: False claims about degrees from Baruch College and NYU
Employment Fabrication: Invented Wall Street career and fake positions at prestigious firms
Religious Misrepresentation: False Holocaust stories involving his family
Financial Dishonesty: Overstated income, inflated assets, and questionable business dealings
Resume Fraud: Invented accomplishments and professional achievements
Campaign Violations: Undisclosed loan sources and donor fund misuse
George Santos Expulsion: The Historic Vote
On December 1, 2023, the House of Representatives voted 311-114 to expel George Santos from Congress. This historic vote made Santos the first Republican ever expelled from the House of Representatives.
More significantly, Santos became the first member of Congress ever expelled without having previously been convicted of a crime or having supported the Confederacy. This distinction underscores the severity of his fabrications and ethical breaches.
His expulsion was only the sixth in House history, highlighting how extraordinary and egregious his behavior was considered by members of both parties. The bipartisan consensus for his removal demonstrated that his deception transcended party politics.
George Santos Legal Issues and Criminal Charges
Following his expulsion, George Santos faced federal prosecution for his crimes.
Federal Indictment
Santos was indicted on 23 federal counts, including:
- Wire fraud
- Aggravated identity theft
- Money laundering
- Theft of public funds
- False statements
- Conspiracy
Guilty Plea
In August 2024, George Santos pleaded guilty to:
- Wire fraud
- Aggravated identity theft
In his plea, Santos admitted to:
- Embezzling campaign donor funds for personal use
- Filing fraudulent Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports
- Fabricating political contributions
- Using stolen identities to conduct fraudulent transactions
Sentencing
On April 25, 2025, a federal judge sentenced George Santos to 87 months (approximately 7.25 years) in federal prison. The sentence also included:
- $373,749 in restitution to victims
- $205,002 in forfeiture to the federal government
- Total financial obligations exceeding $578,000
The 87-month sentence was notably one of the longest sentences ever handed to a former congressman, reflecting the severity of his crimes.
George Santos Prison: Incarceration at FCI Fairton
On July 25, 2025, George Santos surrendered to federal custody to begin serving his 87-month sentence. He was placed at FCI Fairton, a medium-security federal correctional institution in Fairton, New Jersey.
During his incarceration, Santos reportedly spent stretches in solitary confinement and lodged complaints about prison conditions. Life as a former congressman in federal prison attracted significant media attention, with stories emerging about his experiences and treatment.
However, Santos’ time in prison would be dramatically shortened by an unexpected presidential action.
George Santos Trump Commutation: October 17, 2025
In a shocking turn of events, on October 17, 2025, President Donald Trump commuted the 87-month prison sentence of George Santos. This commutation granted Santos immediate release from FCI Fairton after serving approximately three months of his sentence.
Why Trump Commuted Santos’ Sentence
In announcing the commutation on Truth Social, Trump cited Santos’ reported mistreatment in solitary confinement and characterized the sentence as excessive for what he called a “rogue.” Trump’s rationale focused on the harsh prison conditions and solitary confinement, rather than addressing the underlying crimes.
What Commutation Means
It’s important to understand what commutation does and doesn’t do:
- Commutation: Reduces or eliminates prison time. Santos was released immediately.
- Pardon: Would clear the conviction itself. Trump did not issue a pardon.
Santos’ convictions for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft remain on his record. The commutation only erased his remaining prison time, allowing him to rejoin society while still being a convicted felon.
Controversy and Significance
The commutation was immediately controversial. Critics argued that:
- Santos’ crimes were serious and deserved full punishment
- Political loyalty was being rewarded over justice
- The commutation sent a troubling message about accountability for fraud
- Santos had served barely 10% of his sentence
Supporters of the commutation argued that:
- Solitary confinement is cruel punishment
- Santos had already suffered significant consequences
- The sentence was disproportionately harsh compared to other white-collar offenders
George Santos Drag Queen: Kitara Ravache and the Persona
One of the most intriguing and controversial aspects of George Santos’ biography involves allegations that he performed as a drag queen in Brazil under the stage name Kitara Ravache.
The Allegations
According to reports, George Santos performed in drag in Brazilian beauty pageants in 2008 using the drag name Kitara Ravache. One former acquaintance claimed that Santos began dressing in drag in 2005. Another person who performs in drag as Eula Rochard recalled Santos returning from a 2007 trip to the United States with expensive dress materials that were not available in Brazil at that time.
A friend from that period stated that Santos was very involved in local LGBT activism in Brazil, handing out leaflets and regularly attending meetings of a local activist group and Pride parades.
Santos’ Denial
When confronted with these allegations, George Santos denied them emphatically. He called the allegations “categorically false” and accused the media of making “outrageous claims about my life.” Two days later, he softened his position, saying “No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys. I was young and I had fun at a festival.”
Kitara Ravache Returns
In 2024, after pleading guilty to his crimes, Santos revived the Kitara Ravache persona on Cameo, an online platform where celebrities offer paid video messages. He began offering paid video performances under the Kitara name, stating that 20 percent of proceeds would go to charity.
Critics argue this move merges performance art with his controversial past, though Santos frames it as a charitable effort. The return of Kitara Ravache represents one of the most unusual twists in an already bizarre political scandal.
What Next for George Santos?
As of 2025, George Santos has been released from prison following Trump’s October commutation. He remains a convicted felon with wire fraud and identity theft convictions on his permanent record. His future remains uncertain.
Santos has indicated interest in returning to politics as an independent candidate, having left the Republican Party in 2024. Whether voters or politicians would welcome him back remains highly questionable.
What is certain is that George Santos’ biography will be studied for years as a case study in political deception, the dangers of inadequate vetting, and the consequences of systematic fraud at the highest levels of government.
Conclusion
George Santos biography is a complex and troubling story of ambition, deception, and consequences. From his modest childhood in a rat-infested basement apartment in Queens to his 11 months in Congress and ultimate imprisonment, his life reads like a political thriller.
What makes the George Santos story so significant is not just what happened to him, but what it reveals about political systems, voter verification, and the importance of transparency and honesty in public service.
His fabricated education, invented career, exaggerated wealth, and elaborate lies fundamentally undermined the democratic process. Voters were not given honest information about who they were electing. Party leaders failed to adequately vet his credentials.