( CNN ) -- Three woman in the Dominican Republic were paid to claim , falsely , that they had sex with U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez , police said in a statement Monday . The women were paid by attorney Melanio Figueroa , who worked with Miguel Galvan , another attorney , they said . Galvan has previously said that another lawyer asked him to assist in a divorce case by finding `` witnesses '' to claim they had sex with Menendez for money . Attempts to contact Figueroa on Monday were unsuccessful . For their services , two of the women received a bit more than $ 400 . The third woman was paid close to $ 300 , police said . Menendez , a New Jersey Democrat , has long denied a report that accused him of partying with prostitutes in the Dominican Republic . Confessions shows sex claims were 'false smears , ' senator says . The Daily Caller , a conservative website , first published the report shortly before the November election , citing a video with two women claiming they had sex with Menendez for money . The three woman identified by police told investigators they made a recording . They first went to a hotel room to do it but later moved to a commercial area with an Internet connection after the connection at the hotel proved inadequate . `` The evidence released today by Dominican law enforcement authorities proves what we have said all along : that the smear campaign against Senator Menendez is based on lies , lies we now know were paid for by interests whose identities have not yet been fully disclosed , '' Menendez 's communications director Tricia Enright said in a statement . She urged authorities in the United States to investigate the case . Menendez told CNN in January that the claims he 'd partied with prostitutes were `` absolutely false , '' calling the allegations `` smears . '' Menendez faces scrutiny over ties to Florida doctor . In addition to those claims , Menendez has faced criticism over accepting unreported plane flights and allegedly advocating on behalf of a business . Questions revolve around the senator 's relationship with Salomon Melgen , a Florida man who owned a plane Menendez admits to having flown on three times to the Dominican Republic in 2010 . One flight was on official Senate business , and two others were for personal reasons . Melgen , his wife , Flor , and his daughter , Melissa , have been generous donors to Menendez , his fellow Democrats and related causes in recent years . In January , Menendez paid approximately $ 58,500 to Melgen for the flights he took in 2010 , chalking up the lapse in payment to his busy schedule . `` I was in a big travel schedule in 2010 as the chair of the ( Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee ) , plus my own campaign getting ready for a re-election cycle , and in the process of all of that , it unfortunately fell through the cracks , '' he told CNN 's Dana Bash , adding that when it came to his attention that the payment had not been made , he `` personally paid '' for it in order to meet his obligation . Menendez has also been in hot water for raising questions before Obama administration officials about a port security contract for a company in which Melgen has a stake . The company had a contract to screen cargo that went through Dominican ports , but Menendez argued last July during a Senate subcommittee hearing that Dominican authorities did n't want to `` live by '' the contract . Asked if he used his influence to help Melgen , Menendez told Bash : `` I have always advocated for issues and I have advocated for policies , and that 's what I have done across the board . '' Mystery source , high stakes . CNN Political Unit , CNN 's Ted Barrett and journalist Diulka Perez contributed to this report .
NEW : A spokeswoman for Sen. Robert Menendez urges the Dominican Republic authorities to investigate . U.S. has long denied a report that accused him of partying with prostitutes . Police in U.S. say the women were paid by a lawyer . Three of the women received a bit more than $ 400 ; the third woman was paid more than $ 400 .