Ofer Biton, an Israeli man who traveled around the New York region with Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY) to raise money for his 2010 congressional campaign, has been arrested by the FBI.
As first reported by the New York Daily News, Biton has been arrested for lying on immigration documents. The case does not appear to be directly related to his fundraising efforts for the Grimm campaign, which are under FBI investigation.
Grimm and Biton, a top aide to Orthodox Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, were “together all the time during the campaign” and would “drive around together to the homes and offices and ask for contributions,” one of the rabbi’s followers told the New York Times back in January.
The same federal prosecutor who filed the charges against Biton is leading the investigation into Grimm’s campaign financing, according to the Daily News. At least four campaign workers have gotten subpoenas to testify before a federal grand jury, the newspaper reported.
Grimm, a former FBI agent, has denied any wrongdoing.
A court document related to the case, obtained by TPM, has been embedded below.
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