A subcommittee formed to investigate Representative Michael G. Grimm, Republican of Staten Island, has voted unanimously to defer its work while federal prosecutors in Brooklyn pursue a fraud indictment against Mr. Grimm, the House Ethics Committee said on Friday.

In a 20-count indictment last month, prosecutors in Brooklyn charged Mr. Grimm with underreporting wages and revenue at a health food restaurant he once ran on the Upper East Side, reducing his state and federal tax payments.

The House Ethics Committee voted on May 8 to establish the four-member subcommittee, according to a statement it released on Friday. Representative K. Michael Conaway, a Republican from Texas, is the chairman of the panel, and the ranking Democratic member is Representative Linda T. Sánchez of California. The other members are Representatives Charlie Dent, a Pennsylvania Republican, and Ted Deutch, a Florida Democrat.

House rules require the Ethics Committee to create an investigative subcommittee within 30 days of a member’s indictment on criminal charges, or to report to the House its reasons for not doing so. The subcommittee then generally defers action while the criminal prosecution is conducted. The Justice Department asked the subcommittee investigating Mr. Grimm to do the same, according to the statement.