One-time Des Moines sports radio star Marty Tirrell has been convicted a second time of defrauding investors in a fictitious ticket-flipping scheme.
Tirrell started the region’s first sports talk show in 1995, and for two decades was a popular voice on the airwaves in stints at multiple radio stations. In 2021, he pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges, admitting he encouraged investors to give him money, ostensibly to buy and resell tickets for sports and other high-profile events. Instead he used the proceeds for personal expenses and gambling, costing investors $1.5 million.
Tirrell was released from prison in 2023 and in October 2025, he again was indicted for running a similar scheme. This time the case went to trial, and on Thursday, July 16, a federal jury found Tirrell guilty of all 11 fraud charges against him, with investors’ losses again totaling roughly $1.5 million.
During closing arguments Thursday morning, prosecutor Adam Kerndt walked jurors through the transactions underlying each charge, showing messages and emails indicating the payments were intended for the purchase of tickets to Taylor Swift concerts, boxing bouts and NFL playoff games. In reality, Kerndt said, a tiny fraction of money was ever spent on tickets, with the proceeds instead used to cover Tirrell’s personal expenses and gambling debts and, as the scheme continued, to pay back earlier investors.
When the victims began asking about their investments, Tirrell told them payments were en route from fictitious bulk ticket buyers such as GEICO and Hy-Vee.
“Everyone knows investment has risks, but you can’t lie as part of an investment,” Kerndt said. “Deception and lies cannot be part of the deal.”
Defense attorney Carly Rae Scott argued that prosecutors were mischaracterizing many of the transactions, which she said were intended to be capital investments in Tirrell’s radio company. Other intended ticket deals could have failed for other, legitimate reasons, such as changes in resale markets, she said.
She also accused investigators of failing to pursue relevant information, such as interviewing other business partners or subpoenaing Tirrell’s credit card and ticket-seller accounts, which could have shown his dealings in a different light.
“There are plenty of ways to get tickets other than your debit or credit card,” she said, asking jurors, “Can you rule out (investigators) jumped to conclusions because, well, he did it before, he probably did it again?”
Ultimately, the jury did rule out that possibility, taking about an hour to reach its verdict.
Tirrell will be sentenced by Chief Judge Stephanie Rose at a later date. After his first fraud case, he was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Former Iowa radio host Marty Tirrell convicted again of fraud
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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By William Morris, Des Moines Register | USA TODAY Network
