AG: Andy Sanborn indicted for pandemic relief fraud

Andy Sanborn

Andy Sanborn N.H. ATTORNEY GENERAL

By SRUTHI GOPALAKRISHNAN

Monitor staff

Published: 10-25-2024 4:14 PM

Former New Hampshire state senator Andy Sanborn and his business, which operates the Concord Casino, face two indictments related to pandemic relief fraud, announced Attorney General John Formella on Friday.

The charges, including theft by deception and unauthorized taking, follow Sanborn’s recent arrest as part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

According to arrest documents, Sanborn’s company, WIN WIN WIN LLC — which operates the Concord Casino and The Draft on South Main Street — allegedly overstated its 2019 gross receipts by about $1 million in its application for the Main Street Relief Fund grant.

This inflated figure resulted in Sanborn’s business receiving $188,474 more in grant funds than it would have qualified for under the program’s formula.

The Main Street Relief Fund was created to support small businesses with gross receipts of less than $20 million, impacted by COVID-19’s economic strain as long as they had been operational for at least a year prior to May 29, 2020.

But Sanborn’s casino did not meet this criterion. According to the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, the Concord Casino had been in operation only since June 2019.

Attorney General Formella said that these indictments are accusations, not findings of guilt, and that Sanborn and his company are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise. He added that the investigation remains ongoing.

Sanborn is scheduled to appear for a hearing at Merrimack Superior Court in November.

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Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com