At least 10 individuals have been charged with stealing federal pandemic relief funds by the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Hampshire.

Money from the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans approved through the $2.2 trillion CARES Act was intended to assist small businesses weather the economic upheaval caused by COVID-19. With so much money up for grabs, hundreds of millions of dollars ended up in the hands of fraudsters.

“The purpose of these programs was to get the money out as quickly as possible during the time of high distress in the country,” said Jane Young, the United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, as we learn with programs like this, fraudsters are always first in line.”

One of those people is Pierre Rogers, a 44-year-old California man, who was sentenced earlier this year to 41 months in prison for making lavish purchases with CARES Act funds. Rogers obtained $803,756 in COVID relief funding and spent $107,780 to purchase a 2011 Rolls Royce Ghost and approximately another $56,000 to purchase a Porsche.

Similarly, former State Senator and owner of Concord Casino is accused of fraudulently obtaining and misusing $844,000 in COVID-19 relief funds to support his extravagant lifestyle, including $101,250 for two Porsche 987 Cayman S race cars for himself and $80,000 for a 2008 F430 Ferrari for his wife, State Rep. Laurie Sanborn, according to an investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Office and New Hampshire Lottery Commission.

One major difference between the two cases is that Sanborn has been charged with no crime.

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella has made a criminal referral to the United States Attorney’s Office. Young would not discuss whether the U.S. Attorney’s office was investigating the case. She spoke generally about her office’s prosecution of existing cases, and not specifically about Sanborn.

An eight-month joint investigation by the Attorney General’s Office and the Lottery Commission revealed that Sanborn applied for and obtained $844,000 in COVID relief funds to support his casino operations in Concord even though casinos were specifically ineligible to receive them, the agencies reported.

To get around that, Sanborn left out the registered trade name for his business “Concord Casino” on his loan application and used “Win Win Win LLC” instead. In addition, he characterized the business activity as “miscellaneous,” according to the Lottery Commission and Attorney General.

Documents obtained by the agencies “contain evidence indicating Mr. Sanborn’s knowing and willful execution of a scheme and artifice to defraud the United States Small Business Administration,” Formella wrote.

Young said uncovering fraud typically takes months or even years after the loans have been issued. This delay is because the initial focus is on quickly disbursing funds in a time of need and it takes time for authorities to go back and take a closer look at the transactions.

In multiple federal cases, individuals found guilty of fraudulently obtaining pandemic loans have been sent to prison.

In April, Joshua Leavitt from Northwood received a 28-month prison sentence and 2 years of supervised release for attempting to obtain over $6 million through the CARES Act fraudulently.

Leavitt managed to secure $873,475 by submitting 35 applications from seven different companies.

“Criminals usually are not deterred if their conduct is not successful the first time,” said Young. “So individuals will put in different loans and names of different companies that don’t exist. So it’s just a pattern of criminal activity.”

His business partner was Rogers from California, who spent the funds to pay for luxury items like clothing and jewelry from high-end brands such as Bottega Veneta, Cartier, and Bulgari, as well as stays at resorts and extravagant dining experiences.

Sanborn similarly used funds received from the Small Business Administration for his “extravagant personal spending,” Formella said.

In addition to buying three race cars, the joint investigation found Sanborn’s improper spending included:

■$163,500 in payments to himself in cash disguised as rent paid by the Concord Casino to the Draft Bar and Grill, both located at 67 South Main Street in Concord. These payments amounted to 27 years of prepaid rent.

■$45,000 in auto parts purchases and services.

■$28,800 in engineering and consulting services for his proposal to the Concord Planning Board to build a new casino near the end of Loudon Road.

The Attorney General’s Criminal Justice Bureau has initiated a criminal investigation, but no charges against Sanborn have emerged.

Sanborn maintains that he did nothing wrong.

“​We strongly believe that the allegations are false and we have a story to tell,” said Mark Knights, Sanborn’s attorney. “The story that's been out there so far is pretty one-sided. But we're pretty confident that when all the facts are heard Mr. Sanborn will be found not to have done all these things.”

The only consequence Sanborn has faced is the potential revocation of his casino licenses. A hearing is expected to be held in December after his legal team effectively postponed proceedings with the Lottery Commission on three separate occasions.

In the meantime, operations at Concord Casino continue without disruption, running seven days a week until 1 a.m.

Records show the Concord Casino takes in about $1 million a year in revenue. Of that amount, 35% is supposed to be given to licensed charities and non-profits. But Sanborn keeps half of those payouts in the form of rent he charges the charities.

Law enforcement agencies lack the authority to halt business activities until an individual is proven guilty of a crime or subjected to arrest, said Young. An order for civil forfeiture or restitution is issued when charged with the crime.

After the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force was established in May 2021, more than $1.4 billion in stolen pandemic relief funds have been seized, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Young said she is confident more instances of fraud with pandemic relief funds remain to be uncovered.

“These are taxpayer dollars that were to go to individuals in their hour of need,” said Young. “So the fact that somebody would steal this money for whatever reason, we are committed to ferreting that out and prosecuting those cases where there’s evidence of criminal activity.”