Dinesh D'Souza

By Dana Davidsen, May 20, 2014, CNN / Politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com

Conservative commentator and author Dinesh D'Souza has pleaded guilty to violating federal campaign finance law, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

D'Souza, 53, of San Diego, admitted to exceeding donor limits in 2012 by arranging for others to give to the New York Senate campaign of Wendy Long. He also admitted to making false statements about those donations, the office Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

According to the indictment, D’Souza and his wife contributed $10,000 to Long's campaign. He then directed associates to contribute on behalf of themselves and their spouses, totaling $20,000. D'Souza was to reimburse them.

Federal election law limits individual campaign contributions to a federal candidate to $2,500 each for a primary and general election campaign.

The law also bars any person from making contributions in the name of others or reimbursing another person's contribution.

A noted conservative activist, D'Souza is a former policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan.

He also directed a 2012 documentary, "2016: Obama's America," that was highly critical of President Barack Obama and based on his book "The Roots of Obama's Rage."

Long lost to Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand in 2012. She and other Republicans, like Sen. Ted Cruz, have argued the government is unfairly targeting D'Souza for his political affiliation.