George Santos Walks Out Of Prison And Immediately Does The One Thing Nobody Expected, Charging $300 For It

Former New York Representative George Santos did not waste any time getting back to work after his early release from prison. Less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump let him out early, the 37-year-old was already back online and ready to make money.

Santos had been locked up at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey. He was found guilty of wire fraud and identity theft after he admitted to faking donor records with his campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks. The two used fake names, including names of friends and family, to make it look like they raised more money than they actually did. This helped them get public matching funds. He was supposed to serve 87 months but only spent 84 days in prison before Trump decided to let him go.

Just hours after getting out, Santos reopened his Cameo account and started selling personalized videos for $300 each. His updated bio on the site said simply, “I’m back!!! The Expelled member of Congress from New York City.” The videos included birthday wishes, pep talks, and even life advice. Many people thought it was pretty ironic that someone who just got out of prison for fraud was now giving life advice.

This Wasn’t The First Time Santos Had Made Money This Way

Santos already knew how to use Cameo before going to prison. Reports say he had already made over $600,000 on the app by selling personalized videos to people. His quick return to the platform shows he plans to keep using it to make money.

Even though his lawyer asked people to give Santos privacy so he could “decompress” after getting out, the former congressman clearly wanted to get back in front of people right away. In one of his first posts on X, he shared his first Cameo video since getting released with the text, “Diva UP Always! […] I’m back to put smiles on all your faces!”

President Trump’s decision to let him out came with no rules or limits. Papers shared by U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin showed that Trump gave Santos “immediate commutation of his entire sentence to time served with no further fines, restitution, probation, supervised release, or other conditions.” On Truth Social, Trump defended why he did this by writing, “At least Santos had the Courage, Conviction, and Intelligence to ALWAYS VOTE REPUBLICAN!”

Santos thanked Trump for letting him out and said he was a different person now. He tweeted, “President Trump reminded me that in this country we love so much, no mistake, no hardship, and no fall from grace can take away the possibility of renewal.” He later added, “I’m far from perfect. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve stumbled, but I never lost faith in Him.” While some people were happy about his release, many others wondered if having powerful friends should let someone skip out on punishment after doing something wrong.

People online reacted quickly and most were not happy about it. Many made jokes about how fast Santos got back on Cameo. But others were more angry than funny. Some said that Santos had stolen money from military veterans and never paid them back or said sorry. 

Journalist Brad Polumbo said the decision was “disgraceful” and claimed Santos “was only pardoned because he is a Republican Trump supporter.”