Embattled city Comptroller John Liu is returning to Uncle Sam at least 17 tainted contributions collected by a fund-raiser charged with illegally using “straw donors” to funnel money to his campaign, The Post has learned.
Liu is forwarding the checks — worth at least $13,600 — delivered to his campaign by fund-raiser Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan.
“All donations mentioned in the criminal complaint are being returned to the US Attorney’s Office,” said Liu’s attorney, Paul Shechtman.
Pan, 46, of Jersey City, was charged by the feds last month with attempted wire fraud and conspiracy for allegedly steering the donations to Liu’s campaign account through phantom donors.
Pan collected the funny money from an undercover FBI agent who posed as a Chinese-American seeking Pan’s help to deliver a large contribution to Liu. Pan then allegedly split the money into smaller, $800 straw donations through family members and cronies, the complaint said.
Under such a scheme, the straw donors are basically fronts who get reimbursed.
The total amount collected was nearly three times the $4,950 individual limit allowed for citywide campaigns.
Liu’s decision to return the money to the federal government is an admission that the donations collected by Wu in the sting were likely illegal.
“We agree there is probable cause. A federal magistrate found probable cause. There is a strong allegation. That’s good enough for us,” Shechtman said of the decision to return the money to the feds.
The federal probe of Liu’s campaign fund-raising is ongoing.
But returning the Pan donations isn’t stopping Liu’s fund-raising effort.
His supporters in the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association said they will use the not-for-profit group’s Dec. 19 holiday party at its Mott Street headquarters as a Liu fund-raiser.
Liu’s campaign will have a table outside the function room where supporters can fill out donor cards and make contributions, said CCBA President Jack Eng.
Liu campaign spokesman George Arzt said the event complies with local regulations for not-for-profits because the event is not specifically centered around Liu.
“It is a CCBA event at which Liu campaign representatives will be present,” Arzt said. “It is not a John Liu campaign event.”
But attorneys versed in charitable- and campaign-finance law, however, warned that both Liu and the CCBA, an IRS-registered not-for-profit, could be violating federal tax laws.