Massachusetts state representative charged with stealing $36,000 for personal use, including "psychic services"
Christopher Flanagan
was arrested Friday and accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars "to fund personal and political expenses."
Flanagan, 37, of Dennis, will be arraigned Friday afternoon in federal court in Boston. He was
indicted
on five counts of wire fraud and one count of falsification of records.
In addition to his role as a state representative, Flanagan was also the executive officer of a Home Builders Association (HBA) on Cape Cod. According to the U.S. Attorney, that job paid him up to $81,600, as of last year, in addition to his state salary of $100,945.
Despite the two jobs, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said 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."
The indictment alleges that he stole a total of $36,000 from the HBA from November 2021 to January 2023 through five different wire transfers.
"In one instance, in January 2023, Flanagan allegedly stole $10,000 from HBA in order to fund his campaign account for State Representative," Foley said. "Flanagan also stole hundreds of dollars via direct debit transactions from the association's bank account funds to pay for personal psychic services in July 2022."
Investigators said Flanagan then logged into the HBA's bookkeeping software using someone else's account and listed the expenses as office supplies, travel and bank charges. He also allegedly created two fake expense reports.
The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance also investigated Flanagan's campaign. They claim Flanagan, a Democrat, made up a person named "Jeanne Louise" and told them she was part of a conservative group that was endorsing him. That "group" then sent out mailers to potential voters promoting his campaign.
Foley called the charges against Flanagan "an appalling breach of public trust."
"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," Foley said in a statement Friday.
Flanagan was first elected in 2022. He represents Dennis, Yarmouth and Brewster on Cape Cod. He has not commented yet on the charges.
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