The number of potential victims of an alleged scheme by former Quincy real estate auctioneer Daniel Flynn III has grown from nine to approximately 150.
A public defender for Flynn has asked that his trial, which was scheduled to begin Sept. 6, be delayed to give her more time to prepare a defense. Plea negotiations have begun in the case but are unresolved due to uncertainty about the number of victims and the total dollar amount, according to a filing in U.S. District Court in Boston.
Flynn was indicted last September on seven counts of wire fraud and two counts of mail fraud after federal prosecutors said he misused nine alleged victims’ funds.
On July 26, federal prosecutors identified 25 financial accounts and 150 people or entities that could be considered victims, according to a motion by public defender Cara McNamara.
Discovery in the case had already topped 6,000 unique files before the government’s most recent announcement, requiring the involvement of two investigators and a paralegal in addition to the public defender.
Flynn founded a real estate fund in 2007 and told investors that he would use his insider knowledge of the real estate market to find distressed and undervalued properties as “opportunistic investments,” according to court filings.
Flynn used the money for personal expenses, including renovations to his Milton home, and failed to record mortgages on properties that he owned, according to prosecutors. The indictment cited fraudulent transactions connected to Flynn’s ownership of a former Quincy nursing home that was converted into a condo complex.
Banker & Tradesman first reported Flynn’s legal troubles in 2013 after he defaulted on a series of civil lawsuits connected to his real estate investing activities.
Plaintiffs in those suits included Lee Michael Kennedy, CEO of Quincy-based construction managers Lee Kennedy Co. Inc., and managers of two separate hedge funds.
Flynn is well-known in his hometown of Quincy, where he is a former president of the Rotary Club, and was active in philanthropic circles as the host of charity auctions for groups such as the Doug Flutie Foundation and Boston Bruins Foundation.
