BOSTON -- The former chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, Glenn Marshall, was charged in U.S. District Court with violations of campaign finance law, along with tax, wire fraud and Social Security fraud, in connection with efforts to secure federal recognition for the tribe, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday.

Marshall, 59, of Mashpee, was charged with making illegal campaign contributions to members of Congress on behalf of the tribe, embezzling funds from the tribe, filing false tax returns for himself and the tribe, and fraudulently receiving Social Security disability benefits.

Federal authorities allege that Marshall committed the offenses in connection with his service from 2001 to 2007 as chairman of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, the tribe’s governing body.

During his tenure, Marshall spearheaded the tribe’s effort to become officially recognized by the federal government, which would qualify it for an array of federal program benefits and render it eligible under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to build a casino on its lands, the attorney general's office said in a prepared release.

According to a federal indictment, the tribe was backed by a Michigan-based investment company called AtMashpee LLC, which gave the tribe millions of dollars for lobbying in exchange for a stake in any casino the tribe might ultimately build.

In 2001, according to federal officials, Marshall hired lobbyists to push the tribe's case in Congress but concluded a year later that the lobbyists weren't doing enough to further the cause and replaced them with lobbyist Jack A. Abramoff in early 2003.

The feds allege that Abramoff advised them to make significant political contributions to certain members of Congress so that they might build political pressure on the Department of the Interior to act favorably on the tribe's petition.

They were allegedly told it would be better for the tribal council to make the payments, rather than AtMashpee, so Marshall allegedly had AtMashpee deposit funds into an account for a defunct corporation called the Mashpee Fishermen's Association, which he controlled.

Then, from 2003 to 2007, federal officials allege, AtMashpee put $4 million into the account -- money that Marshall allegedly did not report on the council's federal tax returns -- which was used to pay for legal, lobbying and public relations expenses in connection with the tribe's recognition effort.

Marshall then allegedly used funds in the Fisherman's Association account to make campaign contributions to various elected officials in order to win support for the tribe's casino plans, even though federal law prohibits corporations, including the tribal council, from making contributions to federal campaigns.

He also allegedly "spent approximately $380,000 from the Fisherman's Association account on such personal expenses as groceries, vacation trips, tuition payments for his daughter, restaurant tabs, home repairs, home mortgage payments and jewelry," then failed to report these expenses as personal income on his tax returns.

If convicted, Marshall faces up to five years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, on each count, except on the charge of wire fraud, which carries a 20 year maximum sentence and a $1,000,000 fine.