Congressional candidate who campaigned for Florida's 26th District in 2012, Justin Lamar Sternad, pleaded Guilty in a Forida court on Friday to conspiracy to make false statements and accepting illegal campaign contributions.

In front of Judge Robin Rosenbaum in the Southern District of Florida, Sternad admitted that his campaign accepted cash and checks in excess of Federal Election Campaign Act limits and that he filed statements that intentionally misled the FEC about his campaign’s activities. During the campaign, illegal cash contributions from co-conspirators were used to pay for a rental car and the design, printing and distribution of campaign flyers.

According to court documents, Sternad reported to the FEC that he made loans to his campaign in the amount of $63,801, when he knew that he had actually loaned fewer than $300. In total, Sternad accepted over $81,000 in misreported campaign contributions during a three-month period last summer.

Those contributions, it is alleged, came from his Republican opponent, then-incumbent David Rivera. It is believed that Rivera, a one-term congressman, attempted to interfere with Florida’s August Democratic Primary by funneling cash into the coffers fo Sternad, a dishwasher running for congress for the first time. This was done in an effort to dislodge Joe Garcia, Sternad’s opponent in the primary, from the Democratic ticket. Garcia took the General Election with 54 percent of the vote in November, unseating Rivera.

In a statement that Sternad scribbled onto a legal pad and was read by his attorney Entirque Yabor, Sternad said, “I was taken advantage of, and was used by others. This is not an excuse, nor do I want this interpreted as an excuse. I would now like to publicly apologise to God, my country, my wife, children, family and friends.”

It is thought that Sternad has been cooperating with investigators as they build a case against Rivera. That cooperation is expected to lower the time that Sternad will face in prison.

Rivera denies the allegations that he funneled the money to Sternad.