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Fundraiser For Comptroller Liu Faces Charges Of Wire Fraud, Conspiracy

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP)--  A person familiar with an investigation of New York City Comptroller John Liu's campaign fundraising says one of his supporters has been arrested.

A criminal complaint charges Xing Wu Pan with conspiring to funnel illegal contributions.  Pan was arrested Wednesday.

How Will This Affect Liu's Campaign? 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria Reports

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The complaint accuses him of devising a scheme to support a "candidate for citywide elective office." The person familiar with the case identified the candidate as Liu.

EXTRA: Read the criminal complaint

According to a criminal complaint, Liu had been approached by someone wanting to donate funds beyond the the $4,950 contribution limit. Pan is accused of trying to use straw donors to funnel the $16,000 contribution to the campaign.

"I am saddened by what I ready today," Liu said in a statement. "If it is true then the conduct was clearly wrong and my campaign was not told the truth."

Questions had been raised earlier about Liu's fundraising.

A report found some individuals who were listed as donors to Liu's campaign said they'd never made donations. Federal authorities are conducting an investigation.

Liu has been a rising political star in the city and considered a possible candidate for mayor in the next election.

Meanwhile, a review of Liu's 2009 campaign records shows he accepted political contributions from people linked to a disgraced Democratic fundraiser.

WCBS 880's Irene Cornell Reports

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Liu told the Wall Street Journal he'll examine whether the donations linked to Norman Hsu should be returned. He said he wasn't sure why they hadn't but said he was confident his fundraising was proper.

Hsu was a one-time fundraiser for Hillary Rodham Clinton and other prominent Democrats. He was sentenced in 2009 to 24 years in prison for fraud and breaking campaign finance laws.

The Journal's review of Liu's campaign records show he kept contributions from five donors connected to Hsu. They included an actress and a California man who later testified in federal court that they had been straw donors for Hsu.

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