Former Rep. Steve Stockman was arrested and charged with conspiring to violate federal election laws, KPRC-TV in Houston is reporting.
The ex-congressman from Texas, described as a Tea Party favorite, was elected to two terms in the House from 1995-97 and then again from 2013-15. The TV station noted he resigned to run, unsuccessfully, against Sen. John Cornyn in the 2014 GOP primary.
An FBI agent claimed in a sworn statement that shortly after taking office in 2013, Stockman solicited a $350,000 charitable donation from a "wealthy businessman" on behalf of a Las Vegas-based nonprofit which had been set up to help people dealing with traumatic events, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The donation was supposed to be earmarked to help renovate a building in Washington, D.C., the newspaper said.
According to the Chronicle, the agent alleged that Stockman "diverted the funds to pay personal expenses and make illegal contributions to his campaigns."
Stockman was brought into federal court in Houston shackled and handcuffed, KPRC said.
"These are serious charges," the judge told him.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.