D'Souza, who had made a 2012 documentary on Obama, is also charged with one count of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission in connection with the illegal campaign contributions.

In announcing the indictment, Bharara said his office and the FBI have a "zero tolerance approach to corruption of the electoral process. If, as alleged, the defendant directed others to make contributions to a Senate campaign and reimbursed them, that is a serious violation of federal campaign finance laws."

D'Souza, who is also a best-selling conservative author, had come in for severe criticism for his 2012 documentary '2016: Obama's America', with the Obama campaign accusing him of launching a smear campaign against the President and alleging that the movie was a deliberate distortion of Obama's record and world view.

The documentary had equated reelection of Obama with the death and dismemberment of the U.S. and had been running at number three on the top movies list when it was released.

D'Souza's was formerly a policy analyst in President Ronald Reagan's White House and also served as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute as well as at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

He served as the president of The King¿s College in New York City from 2010 to 2012 but stepped down after admitting to being engaged to a woman while still legally married to another.
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