
A Texas man, Hector Medina, 40, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for attempting to con nearly $1 million from former Representative George Santos by claiming he could erase evidence in Santos' corruption case. According to a report by Gothamist, Medina posed as a fixer, boasting of his nonexistent connections with prosecutors and judges nationwide, admonishing Santos via messages, "If you’re interested, I can get everything dropped, evidence that is on you removed, disappeared."
While Medina's scam was levelled at Santos—who made headlines following a potent 2022 New York Times story that revealed discrepancies in his personal biography—his fraudulent efforts were anything but singular. Under the guise of "Michael Soto," he tried to execute a similar hoax on several other celebrities with pending legal challenges. Falling for the scam, which lacked even the most elementary plausibility, according to The Associated Press, none had.
Medina had pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft, prosecutors allege, in hopes of settling a gambling debt. His legal representation was not readily available to respond to inquiries regarding his sentencing. On the flip side, George Santos himself has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft, after being accused of filing fraudulent paperwork and embezzling from his donors for indulgences and to clear his debts.
Joseph Veith, Medina’s attorney, described the scheme as one that "lacked the sophistication and credibility necessary to pose any real threat of success." Santos, on his part, has been in the middle of another court case aiming for a delayed sentencing, hoping to settle over half a million dollars in fines via proceeds from his new podcast "Pants on Fire." "It’s fairly unusual where you’d have the defendant and the victim both charged in separate instances with the same crime," Veith remarked in a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
Scheduled for April 25, Santos is facing a mandatory minimum two-year sentence on the identity theft charge alone, with up to 22 years in prison on the table. Santos declined to comment directly on Medina's sentencing but had offered a statement to the judge, who will be deciding his own fate soon enough.