Boston.com | Cape Cod rep. charged with fraud faces new counts by Rosemary Ford

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Massachusetts state Rep. Christopher Flanagan, a Democrat from Cape Cod’s First Barnstable District, has been hit with additional federal charges that expand his April 2025 indictment for wire fraud and falsifying records. Prosecutors allege that while serving as executive officer of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod (2019‑2024), Flanagan stole roughly $36,000 and funnelled the money into mortgage payments, credit‑card debt, campaign costs, luxury purchases and even “personal psychic services.” The scheme, said to have run from November 2021 to January 2023, involved unauthorized wire transfers, fake identities—including a bogus “Conservatives for Dennis” group used to conceal a 2022 campaign mailer—and falsified records. New counts of wire fraud, money‑laundering and false tax‑return filings have been added to the case; Flanagan pleaded not guilty and was released on conditions, while Governor Maura Healey has urged him to resign. Each wire‑fraud or falsification charge carries a potential 20‑year prison term.

Read more: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/05/09/cape-cod-rep-charged-with-fraud-faces-new-counts/

#ChristopherFlanagan #Massachusetts #Federalprosecutors #MauraHealey

NBC News Top Stories | What we know about the U.S. soldier who allegedly bet on Maduro’s ouster by Daniel Arkin, Erik Ortiz

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A U.S. Army special‑forces master sergeant, Gannon Ken Van Dyke—a longtime North Carolina real‑estate investor—has been indicted for allegedly using classified information about the January raid that captured Venezuela’s ousted president Nicolás Maduro to place over $400,000 in bets on the prediction‑market platform Polymarket, netting roughly $33,000 from 13 trades. Federal prosecutors allege Van Dyke participated in planning the operation, then unlawfully leveraged that knowledge for personal gain, charging him with unlawful use of confidential government information, theft of non‑public government data, commodities fraud, wire fraud and illegal monetary transactions. The indictment notes he transferred most proceeds to a foreign cryptocurrency vault before moving them to a newly created brokerage account and deleted his Polymarket profile shortly after the raid. Van Dyke, who has been on active duty since 2008 and most recently stationed at Fort Bragg, also manages several properties in Fayetteville and a vacation cottage in Beech Mountain, and was released on a $250,000 unsecured bond pending a court appearance in New York.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/know-gannon-ken-van-dyke-soldier-allegedly-bet-maduros-ouster-rcna341859

#GannonVanDyke #NicolásMaduro #Polymarket #NewYork #Federalprosecutors #GannonKenVanDyke #ShayneCoplan

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NPR Topics: Home Page Top Stories | U.S. soldier charged with suspected Polymarket insider trading over Maduro raid by Bobby Allyn

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Federal prosecutors have unsealed an indictment against 38‑year‑old U.S. Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke, accusing him of exploiting confidential information about the January 2026 U.S. raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to profit from prediction‑market bets on Polymarket. Van Dyke, who served at Fort Bragg and helped plan the predawn operation, allegedly wagered under multiple usernames, trading about $32,000 on Maduro’s arrest and earning more than $400,000. He now faces charges including wire fraud, commodities fraud and misuse of non‑public government information, marking the first criminal case in the United States against someone for insider trading on a prediction‑market platform, while similar allegations have recently emerged in Israel involving bets on Iranian military actions.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/04/23/nx-s1-5797957/maduro-raid-charges-polymarket-insider

#VanDyke #NicolásMaduro #Polymarket #JayClayton #Federalprosecutors #GannonKenVanDyke

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yahoo news | DOJ told judge emails suggest Maxwell arranged women for Prince Andrew

The Department of Justice released a search‑warrant application that cites several emails suggesting Ghislaine Maxwell was coordinating young women for Prince Andrew (Prince Andrew, Duke of York) while investigators built a case against her as a co‑conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein. The affidavit notes at least three exchanges in which the prince asked Maxwell to “find some new inappropriate friends” and to arrange meetings with “intelligent, pretty, fun” women from good families, including ahead of his 2002 state visit to Peru. One February‑2002 message from the prince reads, “As for girls, well I leave that entirely to you,” signed “Masses of love A,” and a later reply from Maxwell confirms she would “ring him today if I can.”

Federal prosecutors argued that these emails demonstrate Maxwell’s attempts to set up sexual encounters for the prince, and they were used to obtain judicial permission to search dozens of electronic devices seized from Epstein’s residences. Maxwell, convicted in 2021 of sex‑trafficking charges, has never been charged with arranging women for Prince Andrew, and the prince has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The Department of Justice’s filings also note that, despite a 2020 request, Prince Andrew has provided no cooperation with the investigation.

The revelations come as British authorities, led by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, are reviewing unredacted materials from the U.S. investigation to determine whether new criminal inquiries are warranted. Rowley said his office is assessing a “whole range of suggested sexual allegations” to decide if they merit further action. Neither the royal palace nor any representative for Prince Andrew responded to requests for comment.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/doj-told-judge-emails-suggest-182405699.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

#doj #ghislainemaxwell #princeandrew #jeffreyepstein #federalprosecutors

yahoo news | House Oversight releases deposition videos of 2 key Epstein associates

The House Oversight Committee released deposition videos of Darren Indyke, Epstein’s longtime attorney, and Richard Kahn, his former accountant. In hours‑long testimonies the two men explained that federal prosecutors never questioned them about their work for the disgraced financier, despite the investigations that began while Epstein was still operating. Both insisted they were unaware of the full scope of Epstein’s sex‑trafficking operation and described their relationship with him as strictly professional, even though they later became co‑executors of his estate and were bequeathed $50 million and $25 million respectively.

Indyke and Kahn defended Epstein’s massive cash‑intensive lifestyle, arguing that the web of holding companies and frequent large withdrawals were standard practice for someone whose 2008 guilty plea limited his access to credit. Indyke said he regularly withdrew $7,500 at a time—more than $700,000 in total—believing the cash was for legitimate business needs. Kahn estimated Epstein’s annual upkeep, including homes, staff, planes, gifts and other expenses, at $25‑30 million. When asked why they continued working for Epstein after his 2008 plea and subsequent lawsuits, Indyke claimed he was convinced Epstein was “devastated and extremely contrite,” noting that he “drank the Kool‑Aid at the time” but later grew skeptical. Kahn said he was too busy “putting out fires” to step away, though he acknowledged he would have left if he could think clearly.

Both men also faced questions about alleged involvement in “sham marriages” used to keep victims in the United States. Kahn regretted authoring an “embellished” recommendation letter for one such marriage, saying he was unaware it was forced, while Indyke said he was not certain the marriage was a sham. Indyke denied advising a victim to avoid police, maintaining he merely suggested speaking with counsel. After the 2019 raid on Epstein’s New York townhouse, Kahn said he recovered items left in the safe and delivered them to the FBI, claiming he never opened the bags. The depositions highlight the defendants’ attempts to distance themselves from Epstein’s crimes while revealing the extensive financial and logistical support they provided.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/house-oversight-releases-deposition-videos-230602597.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

#houseoversightcommittee #epstein #federalprosecutors #sex-trafficking #holdingcompanies

"WASHINGTON (AP) — A new wave of departures is rippling through the U.S. Attorney’s office in Minnesota, where additional federal prosecutors are leaving at a time of mounting frustration with the Trump administration’s stepped-up immigration enforcement and the Justice Department’s response to fatal shootings of civilians by federal agents, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday."

#USAttorney #FederalProsecutors #DOJ #Minnesota #ICE
https://apnews.com/article/minnesota-justice-department-civil-rights-27b1e380562c71072fdbcde10ee8f468

‘Rule Of Law’ Administration Keeps Losing Cases Because It Has No Respect For The Rule Of Law

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.techdirt.com/2025/12/31/rule-of-law-administration-keeps-losing-cases-because-it-has-no-respect-for-the-rule-of-law/

I'm torn, should we file this under - You can't Fix Stupid, or is this just the latest turn in DoJ Bizzaro World?

Interim U.S. attorney Halligan reaches out to reporter and mentioned grand jury matters - which are supposed to be completely confidential under federal law. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna--lindsey-halligan-here #DoJ #FederalProsecutors #JamesIndicment #Indictment #Prosecution #Confidentiality #GrandJury