A Park City attorney filed a complaint Friday urging the Federal Election Commission to investigate Utah Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Mark Shurtleff for possible fundraising violations.

Joe Tesch, a former chief deputy attorney general under Democrat Attorney Generals Paul Van Dam and Jan Graham, wants the commission to determine if Shurtleff is financing his Senate campaign with donations allowed under Utah's campaign finance laws but not allowed under federal law.

"I've been concerned about some of the fundraising activities and some of the people who have donated to the current attorney general," Tesch said.

Tesch's nine-page complaint, which does not name specific donors, was mailed Friday afternoon. He said he was unsuccessful in attempting to e-mail a copy to the Shurtleff campaign.

At a book-signing Friday evening, Shurtleff said he had not yet seen the complaint but felt confident his campaign was operating within the law.

"I believe we have the best FEC attorney in the country," Shurtleff said of Washington D.C.-based Scott Thomas, a former FEC chairman who helped him set up the Shurtleff Joint Fund in August.

"He advises us on a regular basis in all that we do," Shurtleff said, "and we're confident that everything is aboveboard."

Tesch believes that Shurtleff could be breaking the law by using a joint fundraising committee -- a blend of his federal Friends for Shurtleff Inc. and his state PAC for Utah's Future -- to subsidize the high cost of his federal candidacy.

The two funds were combined prior to one of Shurtleff's most popular fundraisers, the sixth annual Wasatch Shotgun Blast held in September.

In his complaint, Tesch said the event's invitation "appears to flagrantly defy the ban on a federal candidate spending state-raised 'soft money' for federal election activities."

Tesch also has concerns about how Shurtleff financed his "testing the waters" phase early this year.

Prior to announcing his candidacy in May, Shurtleff conducted significant polling on federal issues and also traveled to Washington D.C. in March to seek advice before making his decision to enter the race.

Tesch is asking why expenditures for these efforts have not appeared on Shurtleff's first quarterly report to the FEC that came out in mid-July.

Shurtleff countered Friday that his federal campaign expenses have been fully reported. His second quarterly report was sent in late this week and has not yet been posted to the FEC's Web site.

Shurtleff is among a handful of Republicans challenging three-term incumbent Bob Bennett. The candidate who emerges from the party's 2010 convention or primary with face Democrat Sam Granato in November.

cmckitrick@sltrib.com