Sanborn arrested on new pandemic fraud charges • New Hampshire Bulletin

This is a developing story. It has been updated with comments from Andy Sanborn's attorneys.

Concord Casino owner and former state Sen. Andy Sanborn was arrested Tuesday and charged with theft by deception in connection with nearly $190,000 in pandemic aid disbursed in 2020, the attorney general's office said Wednesday afternoon.

The indictment appears to be separate from the Fraud Investigation The state began allowing Sanborn to use nearly $844,000 under a separate pandemic loan program 13 months ago.

Attorney General John Formella said Tuesday's indictment alleges that Sanborn misrepresented his casino's gross receipts by nearly $1 million in order to increase his Main Street Relief Fund grant by nearly $1 million $188,474.

The charge, which carries a prison sentence of 7½ to 15 years, is Sanborn's latest legal and financial trouble.

The State closed its casino in December as part of the earlier pandemic loan investigation after a judge found sufficient evidence that Sanborn and his wife, Rep. Laurie Sanborn, misrepresented the nature of their nonprofit gaming business when they took the $844,000 loan -dollars and then spent the money incorrectly. The alleged fraudulent purchases included three race cars, two Porsches and a Ferrari, totaling $181,250.

The judge in December declined to revoke Sanborn's nonprofit gambling license, as the state had requested, and instead ordered him to sell the casino by September at the latest. Sanborn's lawyers are I'm trying to extend the deadlineSanborn has a buyer who will complete the deal once the attorney general's office completes its background check and approves him for a gambling license.

Meanwhile, Sanborn's lawyers have sued the Attorney General's Office in Merrimack County Superior Court on the grounds that the office seized confidential documents during the execution of a search warrant and then allowed the investigative team to review them. The lawyers claim the documents contain guidance on legal strategy and other matters protected by attorney-client privilege.

Sanborn, of Bedford, could not immediately be reached. His attorneys, Zachary Hafer and Adam Katz, responded to Bulletin questions via email. In their statement, they claimed the arrest was the latest attempt by the attorney general's office to jeopardize Sanborn's ability to sell his casino.

New Hampshire lottery rules prohibit people or businesses convicted of a felony from holding a gambling license for 10 years. It remains unclear whether that liability would extend to the person purchasing Sanborn's company if convicted. Sanborn's lawyers have won many of their lawsuits against the attorney general's office, but have been unable to obtain confirmation that a new buyer would not face a licensing penalty if Concord Casino, which does business as Win Win Win, is convicted.

“In an eleventh attempt to sabotage a sale of Win Win Win, the same attorney general who has been repeatedly accused of violating Mr. Sanborn's constitutional rights by three New Hampshire Supreme Court justices has repeatedly and firmly rejected his legal positions. “ “Currently facing possible sanctions for criminal misconduct by administrative law judges (who oversaw the licensing case) and whose office has now arrested Mr. Sanborn on the eve of a sale to a qualified buyer,” the attorneys wrote in an email. “We are disappointed, but not surprised. And we remain confident that the New Hampshire judiciary will continue to dispense justice and hold the AG accountable.”

The reference to “prosecutorial misconduct” refers to allegations in her lawsuit that the attorney general's office failed to ensure that confidential documents seized in May did not reach the investigative team. Hafer and Katz have asked the judge to disqualify the investigative team or suppress the evidence collected.