Corruption by those in power may be the most disappointing of greedy behavior. Greed hit an all-time high when the United States Congress passed the $2 trillion CARES Act package in response to COVID-19. And while the U.S. government relied on the applicants character versus identity verification to quickly issue relief monies to offset an economic crisis, many Americans became fraudsters. Unfortunately, this includes our leaders. Like the New Hampshire State Senator, Andy Sanborn.
On October 16, 2024, Sanborn was charged with theft by deception by inflating his casino’s gross receipts by nearly $1 million to increase his grant from the Main Street Relief Fund. A CARES Act program that was set up to provide economic support to New Hampshire small businesses. Sanborn also misstated on his application that his casino had been operating for at least a year, as required to be eligible for the program. Sanborn allegedly received almost $200,000 in fraudulent proceeds from the Main Street Relief Fund. And according to the state, it appears Sanborn transferred most of it to his personal bank account to pay off a private mortgage on a lakefront property owned by the Sanborn’s in Laconia. Easy for him to put those fraudulently obtained proceeds towards real estate, since his previous scheme was used on his transportation needs.
For the last fourteen months, state investigators have claimed that Sanborn fraudulently obtained in 2021 and 2022 nearly $900,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans. Casinos and charitable gaming facilities weren’t eligible for EIDL loans. But Sanborn omitted his business name, “Concord Casino,” from the application and listed his primary business activity as “miscellaneous services”. His purchases with the loan proceeds allegedly included two Porsches and a Ferrari for his wife.
Shout out to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office in this case.
Today’s Fraud of The Day is based on article “Andy Sanborn’s pandemic fraud charges are similar — and unlike — others in NH” published by New Hampshire Bulletin on October 21, 2024
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.