NEW YORK — A Brooklyn judge cut a Texas scammer a break, giving the man 18 months for trying to defraud George Santos — and blasted the former congressman’s “cowardice” for not showing up in person Wednesday to give a victim statement.

Hector Medina, 37, reached out to Santos in the summer of 2023, describing himself as a fixer who could make his criminal troubles disappear for $900,000. Medina made a similar offer to “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, who was convicted of raping two women and sentenced to 30 years to life in Los Angeles.

Medina never got a text back from any of his targets. But Santos reached out to authorities, leading to the El Paso man’s arrest on federal wire fraud charges.

Santos, who was in the courtroom in September when Medina entered a guilty plea, was a no-show at the sentencing, though he wrote a one-page letter to Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis.

The disgraced ex-congressman wrote that he took Medina’s messages seriously because he thought they could be real based on the “disgusting weaponization of our Department of Justice,” but punted on whether Medina should get leniency and deferred to the judge’s “vast wisdom.”

Garaufis sighed and scoffed at the letter after reading it.

“I find this letter astounding and not entirely helpful to the court, and I don’t think I would sentence anyone based on anything Mr. Santos has to say, even if he was the victim,” he said. “So that takes care of Mr. Santos.”

The judge also called the letter “ironic” given Santos’ own guilty plea to fraud and aggravated identity theft, and chided the lying former lawmaker for not showing up Wednesday. “It’s a demonstration of cowardice, it’s a demonstration of the lack of character, and he’s speaking out of both sides of his mouth,” Garaufis said.

Santos — who famously lied about nearly every aspect of his life and résumé while running for office in 2022 — pleaded guilty in August, three weeks before he was set to go to trial for a string of brazen scams, including repeatedly charging his campaign donors’ credit cards without their permission and using donor money to buy designer clothes. He’s slated to sentenced in Long Island Federal Court in April.

On Wednesday, Medina pleaded for leniency, with his lawyer Joseph Veith arguing that his client returned to his old habits of fraud on 2023 after seven years staying out of trouble because of his gambling addiction and mental illness.

Veith also pointed out that his shakedown scheme was never going to be successful, since his targets — who also included a musician who was arrested and an athlete’s relative who was busted — had access to money, power and lawyers.

“They’re victims, period, but they’re not vulnerable victims. … They’re not individuals that would have been duped,” he said. “Not one person even bothered to respond to a text message.”

Medina, who was given probation for theft and fraud-related convictions in Texas in 2016, 2023 and 2024, told the judge he’s taken concrete steps to seek help for his gambling addiction and mental health, and pleaded for forgiveness. He’s currently working at the El Paso morgue, and he’s a devoted dad to his young daughter and the son of his ex-girlfriend, his lawyer said.

“I’m not the same person that I was when these events occurred,” he said, as his mother and sister watched. “I never want to find myself in this position again.”

Medina faced the possibility of 37 to 46 months behind bars based on federal sentencing guidelines. Instead, the judge sentenced him to 18 months, followed by three years of supervised release, with his sentence starting May 29.

Garaufis praised the steps Medina had taken as a “positive development,” but said he still needed to serve some time “to make sure the point is received.”

“I think you understand that there can’t be a next time,” Garaufis said.

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