Alliance for a Better Minnesota has sent letters to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics and the FBI calling for investigations into allegations contained in a recently filed lawsuit involving Sen. Norm Coleman. The lawsuit, filed in a Texas court, alleges that Nasser Kazeminy, a longtime associate of the Senator, funneled $75,000 that was intended to benefit Coleman to a Minneapolis insurance firm.

“These are serious allegations,” said Donald McFarland, a spokesman for Alliance for a Better Minnesota, at a press conference this afternoon. “We need to know what actually happened. There should be a thorough and formal investigation. Minnesotans deserve to know the truth.”

The letters question whether Coleman has violated federal laws, as well as senate rules for accepting gifts. Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a liberal advocacy group, also references a report in Harper’s Magazine stating that Kazeminy footed the bill for Coleman’s shopping trips to Neiman Marcus.

A second lawsuit against Kazeminy, filed in a Delware court, echoes the allegations against the Republican Senator. Coleman has denied receiving improper gifts or compensation from Kazeminy. The incumbent currently holds a precarious 206-vote lead over challenger Al Franken in a race that’s headed for a state-mandated recount.

McFarland said he was uncertain how soon the ethics committee might be able to act on the request given that the Senate is not currently in session. “Our hope is that they’ll act quickly,” he said. “It seems that the ethics committee typically doesn’t drag their feet.” A simliar complaint, however, filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in July over Coleman’s living arrangement in Washington, has prompted no action by the committee.

Related: Coleman to federal investigators: Bring it on