WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Former U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned from Congress amid an Internet teen sex scandal, has racked up nearly a $500,000 in legal fees paid from his campaign account, according to recent filings.

Foley spent $277,367 on legal fees from February to April, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. That's on top of the $206,000 in campaign cash Foley spent on attorneys from last November to January.

Foley's filing indicated that he still has about $1.4 million in campaign cash as of July 15.

The FEC has ruled that such expenditures for legal fees that arise from congressional duties are generally lawful, but Foley must still return money to donors who request refunds.

Foley's legal fees were paid to the Washington, D.C. law firm of Zuckerman Spaeder LLP. A spokeswoman for the firm declined comment Monday.

In a May letter to the FEC, Foley wrote that his legal fees are being spent "in responding to an investigation that was initiated by then, Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert."

Following Hastert's call for a House ethics investigation, the FBI and Florida law enforcement said they, too, would begin their own reviews to determine if criminal charges should be filed.

The ethics committee eventually lambasted House Republicans, and Hastert, for turning a blind eye to Foley's behavior, even though they were aware of problems months before.

State and federal authorities continue to investigate whether Foley broke any laws.

"It is still active, but I think we're coming to a close in hopefully the weeks to come," said Kristen Perezluha, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Foley resigned from Congress in September after being confronted with sexually explicit Internet communications to male pages who had worked on Capitol Hill. Soon after, he checked himself into an Arizona facility for what his attorneys said was for treatment of "alcoholism and other behavioral problems."

His attorneys at the time also announced the Florida Republican was gay and an alcoholic and alleged that he had been molested by a priest as a teenage altar boy. They maintain Foley never had inappropriate sexual contact with minors.

Foley returned from rehab to attend a November wake for his father, Edward, who died of cancer. Since then, Foley's whereabouts have not been confirmed, and he has rarely been seen in public.