A federal jury in Houston on Thursday convicted former Texas Republican Congressman Stephen Stockman of numerous counts of fraud, including stealing charitable contributions for campaign and personal expenses.
U.S. attorneys said Stockman used his position as a public servant to defraud donors and break federal law.
They say his conviction shows no one is above the law.
Stockman was charged with 23 counts, including money laundering, mail and wire fraud, and lying to federal election officials.
Among the charges, Stockman solicited more than $1 million in charitable contributions on false pretenses and used much of the money to pay for his election campaign and other personal expenses.
He also spent some of the funds to illegally spy on a political opponent in his failed 2014 campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Two former Stockman aides already had pleaded guilty in their roles in the scheme.
Stockman, a Republican, served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas, from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2013 to 2015.
He is to be sentenced August 17.
