Hector Medina, a 40-year-old man from Texas, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Wednesday after attempting to extort nearly $1 million from disgraced former Congressman George Santos. Medina admitted to fabricating an identity as a politically connected fixer and trying to convince Santos that he could have damaging evidence against the congressman removed.
Medina, using the alias Michael Soto, attempted the scam on other high-profile figures, including actor Danny Masterson, but failed to convince anyone. Medina’s attorney, Joseph Veith, explained that Medina was trying to pay off gambling debts and that the scheme lacked the sophistication to succeed.
Medina pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud in September, just weeks after Santos admitted to deceiving voters, donors, and stealing identities to make campaign donations. “It’s fairly unusual where you’d have the defendant and the victim both charged in separate instances with the same crime,” Veith remarked.
Santos, who faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison for his own identity theft charges, declined to comment on Medina’s case but confirmed submitting a statement to the judge. Santos’ sentencing is currently scheduled for April 25, and he has requested a delay to pay off fines by making more episodes of his podcast “Pants on Fire.”