Expelled former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) will soon face the consequences for his deceptive and fraudulent behavior that got him kicked out of Congress, but he isn't alone in paying a steep price for engaging in criminal activity for political gain.

Sam Miele, 28, who formerly served as Santos' chief of staff, was just sentenced on Friday to serve one year and one day in prison after previously pleading guilty to one count of federal wire fraud, the New York Post reported.

The former top aide to the ex-congressman admitted during his guilty plea to impersonating the chief of staff of then-House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) during the 2022 campaign to fraudulently raise cash from GOP donors for Santos, other candidates, and himself.

Wire fraud and false impersonations

In November 2023, a Justice Department press release announced that Miele had entered into a plea agreement that included him being guilty of a single count of wire fraud and arrangements for him to pay $109,000 in restitution, forfeit $69,000, and repay $470,000 to a contributor.

He had stood accused of not only impersonating then-Rep. McCarthy's chief of staff but also for committing "access device fraud" in which he charged the credit cards of donors without authorization to make fraudulent contributions to the campaigns of Santos and other GOP candidates while also pocketing some of the illicit proceeds for himself.

At the time of his guilty plea, the DOJ observed that Miele faced a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, but according to the Associated Press, federal prosecutors asked that he be sentenced to slightly more than two years in prison while his defense attorney asked that he only be sentenced to home confinement and community service.

The judge appears to have split the difference between those two sentencing requests by ordering Miele to serve one year plus one day behind bars.

During the sentencing hearing, Miele apologized for having "let down" his family and friends with his "terrible mistake," and acknowledged to the court, "What I did was wrong. Plain and simple."

Santos' former campaign treasurer likely also facing jail time

The AP noted that Miele will likely not be alone in serving time as a result of the criminal schemes of the 2022 Santos campaign, as he will soon be joined by former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks and even the ex-congressman himself.

Per an October 2023 DOJ release, Marks pleaded guilty to conspiring with then-candidate Santos to engage in wire fraud, make false statements, obstruct the Federal Election Commission, and commit aggravated identity theft, for which she could face up to five years in prison plus fines and restitution when she is sentenced in May.

Their scheme involved filing false reports with the FEC to fraudulently inflate the amount of campaign contributions received to appear as though the campaign qualified for a Republican Party program that provided additional financial and logistical support for candidates, among other things.

Santos faces up to 22 years in prison

As for ex-Rep. Santos, the AP noted that he will be sentenced in April after he pleaded guilty in August 2024 to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, for which he could face up to 22 years in prison and be required to forfeit $205,000 and pay $373,000 in restitution.

Part of his plea agreement included an admission of guilt to several other uncharged alleged crimes, such as filing false FEC reports, embezzling campaign funds, charging credit cards without authorization, stealing identities, unemployment fraud, and making false statements to Congress.

It was those charged and uncharged alleged crimes, in addition to accusations that he'd lied about and embellished aspects of his background to win a surprising election in 2022, that led to him being expelled by his congressional colleagues before he reached the halfway point of his sole term in office.