Massachusetts State Representative accused of misusing campaign funds

BOSTON – Massachusetts State Representative David M. Nangle was arrested today and charged in federal court in Boston with illegally using campaign funds to pay for his personal expenses, defrauding a bank to secure loans to repay debts, and collecting income that he failed to report to the IRS.

Nangle, 59, of Lowell, was indicted on 10 counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, nine counts of making false statements to a bank and five counts of filing false tax returns. Nangle was arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Boston this afternoon.

Nangle has been the elected member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 17th Middlesex District since 1999. It is alleged that Nangle, a former House Ethics Committee Chairman, used his campaign committee’s debit card to make personal purchases, including thousands of dollars in gift cards for his personal use, among other things.

It is further alleged that Nangle, who was heavily in debt, gambled extensively at area casinos and online, and then used thousands of dollars in campaign funds to pay for various personal expenses such as dues at a local golf club, rental cars to travel to casinos, flowers for his girlfriend, gas, hotels, and restaurants. According to court documents, Nangle knew that using campaign funds for personal use was prohibited and subject to oversight by an independent state agency, and concealed his theft by filing false reports that disguised the personal nature of the spending.

From at least 2014, Nangle devised a scheme to obtain loans from a bank in order to fund his gambling activities and to repay his personal debts. Nangle allegedly did so by making false statements on loan applications, misstating his income and understating his debt.

According to the indictment, Nangle filed false tax returns for tax years 2014 to 2018 by reporting fictitious business deductions for purported “consulting” work that he did for a Billerica company. Nangle allegedly double dipped on deductible expenses arising from his work as a state legislator, fraudulently claiming thousands of dollars in false deductions for alleged charitable donations, and misleading his tax preparer.

Nangle also allegedly concealed the income he received through goods and services from business owners and other sources. This included $7,000 in kitchen and bathroom work done in Nangle’s home and $7,000 in check payments from a contractor; gambling income from a Connecticut casino; and thousands of dollars that he stole from his campaign account.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a bank each provide for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charge of filing false tax returns provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; and Kristina O’Connell, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Chao and Kunal Pasricha of Lelling’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.