A state representative from Cape Cod was arrested Friday morning for an alleged financial fraud scheme that the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts described as an “appalling breach of public trust.”
Dennis Democrat Chris Flanagan was indicted by a federal grand jury on five counts of wire fraud and one count of records falsification. He is due to appear in federal court Friday afternoon.
Flanagan is accused of stealing $36,000 from his then-employer, the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod, over a period from November 2021 to January 2023. He allegedly spent some of the money in support of his campaign — including campaign T-shirts — as well as on personal bills, psychic services and clothing.
Flanagan’s attorney, Greg Henning, told GBH News he was still gathering information and learning details of the recently released indictment Friday morning.
Gov. Maura Healey said Friday that Flanagan should resign, saying the allegations against him “threaten to undermine the important work of the Legislature and cast doubt on his ability to faithfully serve his constituents.”
Flanagan’s fellow Cape Cod Democrat, state Sen. Julian Cyr, also called for him to resign his seat, as did the Massachusetts Republican Party.
House Minority Leader Brad Jones said Flanagan should resign, calling the arrest “disturbing but not surprising.”
Jones, a North Reading Republican, had asked House Speaker Ron Mariano in January to have the House Ethics Committee launch an “immediate and thorough investigation” into the allegations against Flanagan. He said that, if Flanagan refuses to resign, then Mariano “should immediately authorize and direct the House Ethics Committee to begin proceedings in this matter.”
Barnstable Police acknowledged in January that they had received a report of “potential criminal activity” involving Flanagan in recent months and that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston was investigating.
Mariano’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Flanagan, 37, was sworn in to his second term representing Dennis, Yarmouth and Brewster in January, after running unopposed in last year’s Democratic primary and winning the general election with 57% of the vote. State payroll records show he earns an annual salary of $82,044 as a lawmaker.
Last year, Flanagan and his campaign paid thousands of dollars in penalties after state campaign-finance regulators found he falsified a “Conservatives for Dennis” mailer sent to voters in his first campaign and made up a person, Jeanne Louise, whose name was used on the mailers.
“Today’s charges against Massachusetts State Representative Christopher Flanagan reveal an appalling breach of public trust,” U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement Friday. “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.”