May 7 (Bloomberg) -- Norman Hsu, the former Democratic fundraiser sentenced to three years in a California state prison for theft, pleaded guilty to 10 separate federal charges that he cheated investors out of millions of dollars.

Hsu, 58, entered his plea today in Manhattan federal court. In 1991, he pleaded no contest in California and was convicted of grand theft for stealing $1 million from investors in a scheme to buy and resell latex gloves. He failed to appear for sentencing and spent 15 years as a fugitive. He was re-arrested in 2007 and sentenced to prison by a California judge.

In the intervening years, Hsu raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Democratic candidates and party committees, including then-U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, the Democrat from New York and former presidential candidate who is now U.S. secretary of state, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based research group.

Federal prosecutors in New York accused Hsu of recruiting investors by promising high returns on short-term investments, using money from new victims to pay older ones and pressuring investors to contribute to political candidates he favored. Investors lost more than $20 million, prosecutors alleged.

The trial in his case was scheduled to begin on May 11. Hsu has been held in custody since his arrest.

The New York case is U.S. v. Hsu, 07-1066, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

To contact the reporter on this story: David Glovin at the federal court in New York at dglovin@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 7, 2009 11:29 EDT