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NEW YORK — Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a Republican from New York who resigned from Congress following a tax fraud conviction, is paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament, according to friends who are raising funds to pay for the former lawmaker’s medical care.

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Grimm, 54, suffered the devastating injury in September and is now being treated at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where the late actor Christopher Reeve was treated after a similar equestrian accident in 1995, according to Vincent Ignizio, a Grimm’s friend. who is a former member of the New York City Council.

Grimm was an avid polo player for years, Ignizio said. “It was a passion of his and he had a tragic accident at the end of September,” said Ignizio, who set up a GoFundMe account to pay for Grimm’s medical care.

A former Marine and FBI agent, Grimm represented Staten Island and part of Brooklyn in Congress from 2011 to 2015.

A federal investigation into Grimm’s fundraising that began in 2012 eventually led to a 20-count indictment centered on a restaurant Grimm ran in Manhattan. Prosecutors said he underreported wages and income to the government and filed false tax documents.

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Grimm won re-election in 2014 despite the indictment, but pleaded guilty the following month to one count of tax fraud. He resigned from Congress in January 2015 and served eight months in prison.

Grimm attempted a comeback in 2018, but lost a Republican primary for his old district to incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan, who then lost the general election to Democrat Max Rose.

Republican Nicole Malliotakis defeated Rose in 2020 and has represented the district ever since.

Grimm most recently served as a host on Newsmax.

The GoFundMe for Grimm’s medical care had raised $118,000 as of noon Monday. “His ultimate goal is to get him walking again,” Ignizio said.

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