DES MOINES, Iowa – A federal grand jury in Des Moines returned an 11 count indictment on October 16, 2025, charging a Des Moines man with wire fraud.

As alleged in the Indictment, Martin James Tirrell, 65, ran a scheme to defraud multiple individuals between February 2024 and January 2025. Tirrell’s scheme involved obtaining money from individuals that he claimed would be used to buy tickets to high-demand sports and concert events and resold at a profit. Instead, Tirrell used a majority of the funds for gambling and personal expenses, repaying loans, and paying other investors for earlier payments. In total, investors provided Tirrell several million dollars and the victim investors sustained a combined loss exceeding $1.5 million.

Tirrell was on federal supervised release for a 2019 mail fraud conviction. Tirrell was released from his 41-month prison sentence in January 2023.

Tirrell made his initial court appearance on October 20, 2025, before a United States Magistrate Judge of the United State District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Trial was set for December 1, 2025. Tirrell will remain detained in federal custody pending further proceedings.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating this case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.