Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila of Puerto Rico was indicted yesterday for allegedly leading a brazen scheme to defy campaign finance laws, fraudulently obtain public funds, and steer government contracts to firms that secretly paid off his campaign debts.

The indictment charges that Mr. Acevedo Vila, 46, and his top legal adviser, Luisa Inclan Bird, conspired to have outside firms pay off a $545,000 debt incurred during Mr. Acevedo Vila’s successful campaign to be Puerto Rico’s nonvoting delegate to the House of Representatives, a position known as resident commissioner. He was elected governor in 2004 on an anti-corruption platform and is running for re-election this year.

“I am going to defend my rights and protect the dignity of my family and of the people of Puerto Rico who support me,” the governor said in a statement yesterday, according to the Associated Press. “I want to assure the people of Puerto Rico that I have never solicited nor accepted a contribution in exchange for a government contract, never permitted the illegal use of public funds nor acted illegally. … I know very well several of those accused today, and I am convinced that they never accepted a bribe or stole a single cent.”

A Philadelphia-based Democratic fund-raiser, Robert Feldman, was among 11 others charged in the case. The Philadelphia Inquirer said the charges grew out of a federal investigation into corruption and bid-rigging at Philadelphia’s City Hall, but the FBI said yesterday that the inquiry was triggered by a source’s tip that Mr. Acevedo Vila was getting unusual donations from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Last month, Mr. Acevedo Vila endorsed Senator Obama’s presidential campaign. He was expected to serve as a superdelegate at the Democratic convention in Denver in August.

On February 13, the Obama campaign, eager to bolster its standing with Latinos, advertised plans to hold a conference call featuring the Puerto Rican official. A short time later, Mr. Obama’s aides canceled the call, citing scheduling issues.

A spokesman for Mr. Obama, William Burton, declined to comment on the indictment yesterday, but said Mr. Acevedo Vila “holds no title and has no official role on our campaign.”

Prosecutors charged Mr. Acevedo Vila with tax fraud for failing to report $57,000 of “high-end personal clothing items” paid for by supporters, the use of campaign funds to pay for family trips to Miami and Orlando, as well as a business’s payments for a family trip to Costa Rica and a visit his children made to China.

The lead Justice Department prosecutor on the Puerto Rico case, Daniel Schwager, was a prosecutor in the 2005 trial of the national finance director for Senator Clinton’s 2000 campaign, David Rosen, on charges he deliberately underreported fund-raising expenses and in-kind gifts. He was acquitted on all counts.