DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Des Moines sports radio host Martin Tirrell has been charged with an 11-count federal indictment for wire fraud — just a few years after being released from prison on a mail fraud conviction from 2019.

The United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Iowa, said between February 2024 and January 2025, Tirrell accepted over $1.5 million from investors under the pretense of purchasing tickets to sporting events and concerts, which he claimed would be resold for a profit.

According to court records, Tirrell promised investors that he would use their money to buy tickets and sell them at a profit, then repay the investment.

Prosecutors allege that Tirrell instead used the funds for gambling, personal expenses, and to make payments to other investors as supposed returns on their investments.

Tirrell, who was once known as the “Mouth of the Midwest,” had previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud in December 2019 related to another ticket-buying scheme. In 2021, a federal judge sentenced Martin Tirrell to 41 months in prison. He was given federal supervised release in January 2023.

Court records show Tirrell was arrested on October 20th. His federal trial is scheduled for December 1, 2025.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WHO 13 News. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WHO 13 News staff before being published.