Texas Woman Tied to N.Y. Congressman Grimm Is Indicted on Making Illegal Campaign Contributions

Story by the Associated Press; curated by Dave Urbanski

NEW YORK (AP) — A Texas woman who has been romantically involved with Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm has been indicted in New York on charges of making illegal campaign contributions.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn unsealed the indictment against Diana Durand on Friday.

The indictment says she caused more than $10,000 in donations to be made in the names of other people between November 2009 and October 2010. It says she lied in June 2012 when she told the FBI she didn't reimburse straw donors for their contributions to Grimm's campaign.

The filing came the same day CNN reported federal officials were preparing criminal charges against Grimm after a two-year FBI probe that has looked into his business dealings as well as his first campaign for Congress in 2010.

Durand attorney Stuart Kaplan says his client and Grimm became friends before he ran for office. He says she'll plead not guilty.