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Texas man who admitted trying to scam George Santos sentenced in federal court
By
Samantha Max
Published Jan 22, 2025
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By
Samantha Max
Published Jan 22, 2025
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A Texas man who pleaded guilty to fraudulently promising to get the criminal case against former Rep. George Santos dismissed was sentenced to a year-and-a-half in federal prison on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say Hector Medina started to send predatory messages to Santos in 2023, after the former congressmember was indicted. In those messages, he claimed that he worked with prosecutors and judges throughout the country and offered to “cut a deal,” prosecutors say. Medina pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud in the Eastern District of New York.
“If you’re interested, I can get everything dropped, evidence that is on you removed, disappeared,” Medina wrote, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. “Reach out to me if you’re interested.”
Prosecutors said Medina, sometimes going by the alias “Michael Soto,” repeatedly followed up and urged Santos to wire him $900,000.
“I’m the real deal,” he wrote in one message, according to court records.
Medina made similar offers to other celebrities facing criminal charges, including an actor, a musician and an athlete, prosecutors say in court filings.
His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The U.S. attorney’s office said in a sentencing memo that Medina admitted to sending the messages and to searching the internet for people who were in trouble and might be easy targets. The memo also states that he devised the scheme in the hopes of repaying a gambling debt. Prosecutors said they’re not aware of anyone actually sending him the money he requested.
Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft last year, after prosecutors accused him of filing fraudulent paperwork and stealing from his donors to buy luxury goods and pay off his credit cards. The former representative made national headlines following a 2022 New York Times story that exposed inconsistencies in his personal biography.
Tagged
public safety
Politics
long island
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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