A federal judge ordered Massachusetts state Rep. Chris Flanagan, a Democrat from Dennis Port facing fraud charges, to refrain from gambling, accruing credit card balances over $5,000, or opening any new lines of credit above that threshold without prior court approval.
Flanagan was arrested in April on allegations that he embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from a former employer, concealed the thefts, and used the funds to cover personal expenses. He pleaded not guilty and was released under the condition that he maintain his current employment or actively seek a new job, the Boston Herald reported.
In a July 22 filing, however, attorneys from U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office asked the court to tighten Flanagan’s release conditions by restricting his ability to gamble and incur substantial credit card charges.
“The government believes that certain conditions related to the defendant’s finances are necessary in this case,” federal prosecutors said in the document, according to the outlet. “The government has conferred with the counsel for the defendant regarding the addition of certain financial conditions, and the parties agree (to the new conditions).”
Greg Henning, Flanagan’s attorney, noted that the gambling and credit-card restrictions were included in the original release conditions but were only formalized in the recent filing by prosecutors.
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Flanagan is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars “to fund personal and political expenses,” including “psychic services.”
He was charged with five counts of wire fraud and one count of falsifying records. He pleaded not guilty to all charges in federal court in Boston on Friday afternoon and was released, CBS News reported in June.
In addition to his job as a state lawmaker, Flanagan served as the executive director of the Cape Cod Home Builders Association (HBA). According to the U.S. Attorney, that work paid him up to $81,600 last year, on top of his state compensation of $100,945.
Despite the two jobs, Foley stated in her charging document that Flanagan was “facing personal financial difficulty, with thousands of dollars in outstanding credit card debt, missing mortgage payments, and hundreds of dollars in bank overdraft fees.”
According to the accusation, he stole $36,000 from the HBA via five distinct wire transfers between November 2021 and January 2023.
“Today’s charges against Massachusetts State Representative Christopher Flanagan reveal an appalling breach of public trust,” Foley said in a press release posted to the Department of Justice’s website.
“According to the indictment, Mr. Flanagan defrauded the very organization he was supposed to serve – allegedly funneling tens of thousands of dollars into his own pockets to pay off personal bills, buy luxury items and bankroll his political campaign. He allegedly stole money and then went to extraordinary lengths to cover it up, going so far as fabricating fake personas to mislead those who questioned his conduct. This alleged scheme was calculated on every level. No one is entitled to power by way of fraud, and the people of Massachusetts deserve better,” she added.
Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division, added: “Today’s arrest of Massachusetts State Representative, Christopher Flanagan, demonstrates that postal inspectors will not permit elected officials to commit fraud and play by different rules. Flanagan’s egregious betrayal to his positions of trust and his deplorable actions of lining his own pockets for personal or political reasons are unacceptable. The people of Massachusetts deserve better.”
“The indictment of Christopher Flanagan demonstrates IRS – Criminal Investigations commitment to rooting out public corruption, at all levels of government,” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office.
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