Andy Sanborn’s pandemic fraud charges are similar — and unlike — others in NH
Published: 10-22-2024 10:40 AM |
Concord Casino owner Andy Sanborn’s arrest Oct. 16 for alleged pandemic fraud is the most recent but not sole COVID-19 fraud case brought by state and federal authorities in New Hampshire since 2022.
In all, authorities have announced charges against at least 17 other individuals.
But the charges against Sanborn, of Bedford, are unique when it comes to individuals charged by the state, and if he is charged on federal crimes, that case would likely play out far differently than the other federal cases.
Among those charged by the state, Sanborn is the only person whose fraud charges are connected with pandemic assistance given to businesses. The seven others indicted by the state were charged with misrepresenting their employment during the pandemic and collecting unemployment benefits they were not entitled to.
Should Sanborn also see federal charges, he’s likely to wage a legal fight not seen in the 10 cases brought by the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Hampshire. Each of those defendants pleaded guilty, and if Sanborn’s current legal strategy holds, he is unlikely to.
Here are three takeaways from the case against Sanborn case versus the others.
The fraud charges the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office arrested Sanborn on were not the ones people expected.
For the last 14 months, that office has talked publicly about a single fraud investigation involving Sanborn’s use of nearly $844,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans. In that case, the state alleges, Sanborn misrepresented the nature of his business on his loan application knowing that casinos were not eligible and then used the money to enrich himself.
Article continues after...
Yesterday's Most Read Articles
His purchases allegedly included three race cars, two Porsches and a Ferrari for his wife, Rep. Laurie Sanborn, that totaled $181,250.
The state has not charged Sanborn in that case, but that investigation led Attorney General John Formella and the New Hampshire Lottery Commission to move last August to revoke Sanborn’s gaming license.
A judge stopped short of that and instead ordered Sanborn to shutter his casino by January and sell his business by September. His lawyers are pushing for more time, saying Sanborn has a buyer who will close the sale as soon as the Attorney General’s Office approves him for a gaming license.
Sanborn’s attorneys have sued the Attorney General’s Office in superior court in an effort to disqualify the investigative team on that case or suppress the evidence it collected while executing a search warrant in May.
They allege the state failed to ensure that confidential records between Sanborn and his attorneys that were seized in May did not reach the investigative team.
The timing of Sanborn’s arrest coincides with a key moment in the civil case, where a judge has been asked to determine whether the state should face penalties for the way it carried out its search in May.
During an August hearing, Merrimack County Superior Court Judge John Kissinger told state prosecutors, “(It’s) pretty clear that I have some concerns about the process that was followed,” according to a transcript of the hearing.
The charges brought against Sanborn on Oct. 16 allege he defrauded a different pandemic relief program, the Main Street Relief Fund, intended to help small businesses. The Attorney General’s Office had not disclosed that investigation previously.