A federal grand jury in Des Moines has indicted Martin James Tirrell, 65, on 11 counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges that between February 2024 and January 2025, Tirrell operated a scheme in which he solicited money from individuals, claiming the funds would be used to purchase tickets for high-demand sports and concert events to be resold for profit. According to prosecutors, most of the money was instead used for gambling, personal expenses, repaying loans, and paying earlier investors.
Authorities say that investors gave Tirrell several million dollars in total, with victim losses exceeding $1.5 million. At the time of the alleged offenses, Tirrell was on federal supervised release following a 2019 mail fraud conviction. He had been released from a 41-month prison sentence in January 2023.
Tirrell appeared in court on October 20, 2025, before a United States Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Iowa. His trial is scheduled to begin on December 1, 2025. He will remain in federal custody until further proceedings.
United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa announced the indictment. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting the investigation.
"An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."
