Nadine Menendez, the wife of a former New Jersey senator, Robert Menendez, will be heading to prison for four and a half years following her conviction on federal bribery charges.

Nadine Menendez, 58, was found guilty on 15 counts in April after prosecutors said she and her husband accepted bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes-Benz. Her 54-month sentence was handed down Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Robert Menendez was convicted in 2024, while he was still a high-ranking senator, and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He resigned his seat weeks after the conviction. Prosecutors said the two were “partners in crime.” 

At her sentencing, the Lebanese-born Nadine Menendez wept and appeared to blame her husband for her crimes. “I put my life in his hands and he strung me like a puppet,” she told the judge, Sidney H. Stein.

“He was my god. I felt safe following him through life. He was one of the most powerful men in the most powerful country in the world. There was no way he would lead me astray or ask me to do anything illegal — or so I thought,” she said. “The blindfold is off. I now know he is not my savior.”

The charges against the couple stemmed from a 2022 raid on their home, where investigators uncovered $150,000 worth of gold bars and $480,000 in cash stashed throughout the property. The couple maintained their innocence and denied that they took bribes. 

Prosecutors had sought a seven-year sentence for Nadine Menendez, arguing that she “did not commit bribery reluctantly, fleetingly, or on a small scale.” The government said she facilitated the bribes in exchange for corrupt acts from her husband.

Her lawyers asked for a sentence of just more than one year, noting that she is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. They argued that a longer sentence would be like a death sentence. 

Menendez is expected to appeal her conviction.