Massachusetts state Rep. Chris Flanagan arrested on federal fraud charges

Chris Van Buskirk, Boston Herald on Apr 11, 2025

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BOSTON — Massachusetts state Rep. Chris Flanagan of Dennis Port was arrested Friday morning on charges that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from a trade association he worked for, covered up the thefts, and then used the money to pay personal bills and fund his campaign for elected office.

Federal prosecutors indicted Flanagan, a Democrat who won a second term to his post in November, on five counts of wire fraud and one count of falsification of records. He is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston at 2:30 p.m.

U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley said the charges against Flanagan reveal an “appalling breach of public trust.”

“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,” Foley said in a statement. “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.”

Flanagan’s attorney, Greg Henning, said he was still gathering information about the arrest and indictment when reached by phone Friday morning.

A spokesperson for House Speaker Ron Mariano did not immediately provide a comment on the arrest and indictment.

The existence of a federal investigation into Flanagan surfaced earlier this year after the Barnstable Police Department said they had received a report of alleged “potential criminal activity” involving Flanagan and his campaign in October 2024.

“In December of 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts adopted the investigation,” the Barnstable Police Department said in a January statement. “Any and all questions regarding this investigation should be directed to the United States Attorney’s Office in Boston.”

The second-term Democrat was earlier the subject of an investigation by Cape Cod police into allegations of felony larceny over $1,200 after his former employer, the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod, filed a police report accusing him of “potential fraudulent use of a business account.”

The federal charges filed Friday accuse Flanagan of stealing a total of $36,000 from the association’s bank account via wire transfers.

“Flanagan allegedly used the majority of the stolen funds to pay personal mortgage bills, to pay down thousands of dollars in credit card debt and to make other personal expenditures,” federal prosecutors said in a statement. “In one instance, in January 2023, Flanagan allegedly stole $10,000 from HBA in order to fund his campaign account for state representative.”

Massachusetts Republicans called on Flanagan to resign from his position shortly after the federal investigation became public.

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