It's bad enough for a politician or a party when a campaign contributor is accused of being a major league swindler. But what if the contributor's victims also want their money back? Several Democratic and Republican campaign committees in Washington have been hit with a highly unusual federal lawsuit demanding the return of $1.6 million in political contributions, which are linked to Allen Stanford and his firm, the Stanford Financial Group. Ralph Janvey, a Dallas lawyer appointed as the receiver of Stanford's estate, argues that the money, donated by Stanford or his associates, rightfully belongs to investors whom the financier is suspected of defrauding. The political committees 'have no legitimate right to retain the funds, and the Receiver is entitled to the return of the funds for the benefit of the claimants injured by the fraud,' Janvey's office said in a statement this week. Stanford and his chief financial officer, James Davis, each face criminal fraud charges in connection with an elaborate $7 billion Ponzi scheme. The collapse of Stanford's Houston-based financial empire set off a scramble by individual politicians _ including President Obama and Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. _ to give Stanford-linked donations to charity. But the major party committees have ignored Janvey's demands for repayment, according to the lawsuit. The largest recipient of Stanford-connected funds was the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, with $950,500, followed by the National Republican Congressional Committee ($238,500), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ($200,000), the Republican National Committee ($128,500) and the National Republican Senatorial Committee ($83,345). The lawsuit argues that since campaign contributions are essentially gifts _ and were not given in return for goods and services _ there is nothing barring the parties from returning the money. And here's the rub for the political committees: If they tried to argue otherwise, they would effectively be admitting to an illegal quid pro quo, legal experts said. The lawsuit is certain to be monitored closely in campaign finance and bankruptcy law circles, not least because a handful of other prominent donors are in the middle of criminal fraud cases. Trevor Potter, president and general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, said Janvey's legal argument in the case 'is unprecedented, but that doesn't mean it will be unsuccessful.' 