A Democratic lawmaker in Massachusetts was arrested and charged after he allegedly stole tens of hundreds of {dollars} from a neighborhood commerce affiliation to fund each private and political bills.
Massachusetts state Rep. Christopher Flanagan, 37, was indicted on 5 counts of wire fraud and one depend of falsification of data on Friday, based on the Division of Justice (DOJ).
Flanagan served as the chief officer of the Dwelling Builders Affiliation in Cape Cod and acquired a wage and advantages starting from $65,800 to $81,600 from 2019 to 2024 when he was working there. Flanagan additionally acquired $97,546 and $100,945 in 2023 and 2024, respectively, from his place as a legislator.
Starting round October 2021, Flanagan was going through monetary hassle and stole $36,000 in Dwelling Builders Affiliation funds by way of financial institution wire transfers, based on the DOJ.
From Nov. 18, 2021, and Jan. 28, 2023, Flanagan wired anyplace from $1,500 to $10,000 on a number of separate events.
The Justice Division mentioned Flanagan used the funds to pay mortgage payments, pay down debt, and even pay for private psychic providers.
In an expense report, the DOJ mentioned Flanagan claimed to have spent $159.36 on “expertise providers” at Greatest Purchase and $537.26 on “Workplace Provides” at 4Imprint, however data confirmed the cash was used to purchase a Bluetooth speaker and T-shirts for his political marketing campaign.
One other expense report exhibits $3,784.84 was spent on workplace provides. The DOJ, nonetheless, mentioned that $2,118.10 was used for private bills at Greatest Purchase, Macy’s, and Goal.
Federal authorities additionally alleged that Flanagan obstructed an investigation by the Massachusetts Workplace of Marketing campaign and Political Finance when he attributed the supply of a marketing campaign mailer to “Jeanne Louise,” a false persona that he allegedly created.
Flanagan faces as much as 20 years in jail for the wire fraud cost and as much as 20 years for the falsification of data cost.
Fox Information Digital reached out to Flanagan and his lawyer for remark.
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