Feds are investigating whether Gaetz discussed running a fake candidate in a state race, The Times said.
Funding "ghost candidates" could be considered a violation of campaign-finance law, the report said.
Federal prosecutors investigating Rep. Matt Gaetz over sex-trafficking allegations are also considering whether he talked about running a fake candidate in a Florida Senate election to skew the results, The New York Times reported on Thursday.
In November, the GOP candidate in the race, Jason Brodeur, an associate of Gaetz, beat the Democratic candidate, Patricia Sigman, to win a seat in the state Senate.
Dorworth told The Times that he did not recall such a conversation with Gaetz and that he had never met Iannotti.
That investigation is part of a larger one that centers on Joel Greenberg, a tax collector from Florida and an associate of Gaetz.
Two of Gaetz's aides have quit amid reports of the investigation, and several politicians have called on him to resign. »