A state representative from the Cape Cod area who was officially indicted on federal charges a year ago is now attempting to have one of the six charges he faces be tossed out of court, making the argument that falsified expense reports he has been accused of filing were not intended to influence an investigation carried out by a federal agency.
State Rep. Christopher Flanagan, a Democrat, was first arrested in April 2025 and charged with five counts of wire fraud and an additional count of falsification of records. He is currently filing a motion to dismiss the falsification charge. Flanagan has been accused of abusing his power as the executive officer of the Home Builders Association on Cape Cod to siphon $36,000 from the association’s bank accounts.
Flanagan was first elected to the state legislature in 2022 and won his reelection campaign in 2024. Flanagan is accused of faking expense reports and then submitting them to the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) as a response to an inquiry concerning campaign finance activities. The indictment claims Flanagan did so with the intent to “impede, obstruct, or influence an investigation within the jurisdiction of the United States Postal Inspectors Service.”
According to a report from Mass Live, prosecutors responded earlier this month to an opposition motion filed against the charge, calling it “without merit.” They stated that the motion spoke to the sufficiency of the evidence against him and wasn’t appropriate at the motion to dismiss stage of the case. The determination of whether Flanagan falsified the expense reports falls under federal jurisdiction.
Prosecutors went on to say that the question is for a jury to decide once Flanagan’s case goes to trial. In order to be charged with falsification of records, prosecutors said that the government must formally accuse an individual of knowingly falsifying a record or document and that the action was taken to influence the “proper administration or investigation of a matter,” and that the matter in question was within the jurisdiction of a federal agency.
The motion describes in detail how, in the government’s eyes, each of the requirements for the charge have been sufficiently met in Flanagan’s case. The Democratic state representative is accused of submitting reports aiming to show legitimate business expenses he incurred with his own funds that entitled him to reimbursement from the HBA.
However, prosecutors say the expenses were personal, campaign-related expenditures that he could not be reimbursed for. The indictment also claims that Flanagan falsified the reports with the intent to hide his theft of money from the HBA. They say the Massachusetts legislator attempted to mislead OCPF investigators into believing that a $10,000 check deposited into his bank account was a legitimate reimbursement and that the association allowed him to withdraw large sums of cash for expenses.
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He also claimed that the check, which he put into his campaign account, was a legitimate donation of his own money. A hearing on the motion to dismiss the charge has been set for May 12, 2026. Chief U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper will preside over the hearing. Casper has asked that both sides be prepared to set a date for Flanagan’s trial during that hearing.
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