(Des Moines, IA) -- A federal grand jury in Des Moines has indicted a local insurance agent on 17 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering charges. Forty-six-year-old Zachary Flaherty is accused of defrauding a dozen clients in Iowa and Nebraska out of a million dollars. Investigators say Flaherty misrepresented information about his clients' returns and bonuses, and costs associated with withdrawing funds or canceling their investments. He's accused of taking money from his clients and using it for his own purposes, including buying a boat and paying his mortgage and vehicle loans.
The indictment states Flaherty encouraged victims to write checks to Flaherty personally and his businesses, including Midwest Senior Solutions Retirement Group, Inc. and Infinity Construction Group, LLC. At the same time, Flaherty misrepresented and concealed information about what he would do with the funds he received from the victims. Instead of depositing or investing the funds on the victims’ behalf, Flaherty deposited the funds into accounts he controlled, and he then used the funds.
According to court documents, victims lost over $900,000 in charges, taxes, and fees related to their annuities. Those clients also wrote checks to Flaherty totaling over $1 million.
The indictment alleges Flaherty defrauded insurance companies out of commission payments and misrepresented and concealed information, by submitting paperwork with forged policyholder signatures.
The Indictment also alleges that Flaherty conspired with another individual to commit mail and wire fraud. Flaherty and a co-conspirator agreed to a scheme to defraud elderly individuals in the Kansas City area.
Flaherty faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison on each count if convicted.