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SAN DIEGO — Less than six months after Bob Filner, San Diego’s first Democratic mayor in two decades, resigned his post amid a sexual harassment scandal, the city’s political waters have been muddied again.

This time, the scandal involves hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign donations to prominent San Diego politicians — including Filner — from a Mexican billionaire funneled through an elaborate scheme.

Two federal complaints unsealed in court this week accuse former San Diego police detective Ernesto Encinas, Washington, D.C.-based campaign firm CEO Ravneet Singh and lobbyist Marco Polo Cortes of conspiring with a “foreign national” to fund San Diego politicians identified as “Candidates 1-4.”

KPBS has identified the “foreign national” as Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, and the candidates as District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), former Mayor Bob Filner, and ex-Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher. Duamis, Vargas and Fletcher have denied any wrongdoing and returned any contributions they received from those involved. Filner is under house arrest from the sexual harassment charges and has not been available for comment.

Using foreign money to fund U.S. campaigns is illegal.

In the complaint made public Tuesday, prosecutors say Azano became interested in San Diego politics around 2011, but was unable to donate because he is not a U.S. resident. To work around this, federal prosecutors say Encinas, Cortes and Singh together funneled up to $500,000 of Azano’s billions to San Diego campaigns in 2012 and 2013.

The complaint alleges Azano moved his money through shell companies and a “straw donor” — identified by KPBS media partner inewsource as La Jolla car dealer Marc Chase — with the help of Encinas, Singh and Cortes to fund political parties and action committees that favored Dumanis, Filner and Vargas. It also claims Azano contributed to Singh directly, paying for Singh’s company to provide social media services for Dumanis’ and Filner’s campaigns.

The scheme unraveled in the summer of 2013, when prosecutors claim Encinas met with a Fletcher campaign representative to discuss how Azano could help finance Fletcher’s bid for mayor if Filner resigned. This still unnamed representative was later contacted by the FBI and became a confidential informant in exchange for immunity.

Chase and Azano have not been charged, but dozens of FBI agents this week raided two homes linked to Azano and seized electronics and financial records.

If convicted, the defendants face five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

KPBS reporters Amita Sharma and Claire Trageser contributed to the reporting in this story.

Updated 1/24/2014 at 4:09 p.m.