NEW YORK (AP) — A Texas man was sentenced to a year and a half in prison Wednesday over his effort to dupe George Santos out of nearly $1 million by offering to destroy evidence in the disgraced congressman’s corruption case.
Hector Medina, 40, admitted to fabricating an identity as a politically connected fixer, then trying to extract money from Santos by claiming that he could have “evidence that is on you removed, disappeared.”
Federal prosecutors said Medina — using the alias Michael Soto — tried the scam on other high-profile criminal defendants, including the actor Danny Masterson, but convinced no one.
Medina's attorney, Joseph Veith, said he was seeking to pay off gambling debts through a scheme that “lacked the sophistication and credibility necessary to pose any real threat of success.”
Medina pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud in September. That came just weeks after Santos admitted to duping voters, deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his own family members, to make donations to his campaign.
“It’s fairly unusual where you’d have the defendant and the victim both charged in separate instances with the same crime,” Veith said by phone Wednesday. “My client is just happy his case is over, irrespective of what Mr. Santos is going to have to deal with.”
Santos declined to comment on Medina's case but said he had submitted a statement to the judge.
Earlier this month, Santos asked the New York judge overseeing his case to delay sentencing until the summer so he could pay off more than half a million dollars in fines by making more episodes of his recently launched podcast “Pants on Fire.”
Santos faces a mandatory minimum two-year sentence for the identity theft charge and a maximum of 22 years in prison. The sentencing is currently scheduled for April 25.
FILE - Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrives at court in Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)
SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — Lindsey Vonn broke down barriers simply by competing at age 40.
Marco Odermatt confirmed himself as the leader of his skiing generation with gold in super-G, and Swiss teammate Franjo von Allmen made a big breakthrough by winning the downhill.
American skier Breezy Johnson marked her return from a 14-month ban and won the women's downhill.
The opening week of the Alping skiing world championships was full of memorable moments.
Here's a collection of some of the top photos taken by Associated Press photographers during the championships so far.
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka shows her bronze medal for a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt bites his gold medal for a men's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Italy's Federica Brignone shows her silver medal in a women's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Czech Republic's Ester Ledecka is airborne during a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during a men's downhill training, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen is airborne during a men's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates at the finish area of a men's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Italy's Federica Brignone celebrates at the finish area of a women's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Austria's Stephanie Venier, second from left, winner of a women's Super-G, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Italy's Federica Brignone, bottom left, and joint third-placed Norway's Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, second from right, and United States' Lauren Macuga, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Breezy Johnson celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal in a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen, with his hair partially shaved off, wears the gold medal for a men's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
United States' Lauren Macuga celebrates moments before being given a bronze medal for a women's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Italy's Sofia Goggia is airborne during a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Italy team react during an alpine ski, World Championship team parallel event, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)
Italy's Alex Vinatzer, left, and Sweden's Kristoffer Jakobsen speed down the course during an alpine ski, World Championship team parallel event, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Italy's Sofia Goggia speeds down the course during a women's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
United States' Lindsey Vonn is airborne during a women's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
United States' Lindsey Vonn gets ready to start an alpine ski, women's World Championship downhill training, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Spectators wearing golden jackets and shiny helmets cheer in the crowd at the finish area of a men's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt at the starting gate of a men's downhill training, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Justin Murisier concentrates ahead of a men's downhill training, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen is airborne during a men's downhill race, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during a men's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Canada's Jeffrey Read arrives at the finish area of a men's Super-G, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)
United States' Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during a women's downhill training, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)