"Federal grand jury indictment charges US Rep. Jeff Fortenberry with one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators looking into illegal contributions to his 2016 campaign," the US Attorney's Office said via Twitter on Tuesday.
Earlier in October, a spokesperson for Fortenberry said the investigation is related to illegal campaign contributions from Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury.
Fortenberry, representing Nebraska’s 1st congressional district since 2005, is the top Republican on the US House Appropriations Committee’s agriculture panel. He was also part of the delegation sent to Haiti following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Chagoury, a foreign national prohibited by federal law from contributing to any US elections, paid $1.8 million in March to settle a probe into campaign finance violations. He admitted to making $180,000 in illegal contributions to four political candidates, including to Fortenberry.
“We will fight these charges,” Fortenberry said in a video published on YouTube.