Posted on: May 26, 2026, 06:41h.
Last updated on: May 26, 2026, 06:46h.
- Former New Hampshire state senator and Concord Casino owner Andy Sanborn has agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud for diverting more than $255,000 in COVID-19 relief funds
- Sanborn faces one year and one day in prison and must repay $255,232.72 after prosecutors say he misused $844,000 in relief loans meant for his now-shuttered charitable casino
- The federal plea comes as Sanborn also faces separate state theft charges for allegedly inflating casino revenue to obtain extra relief money
Former New Hampshire state senator Andy Sanborn — founder of the Concord Casino, a now-shuttered charitable gaming property — intends to plead guilty to a federal charge accusing him of diverting more than $255,000 in COVID-19 pandemic relief funds for personal use, according to court documents obtained by the Concord Monitor.
Sanborn was charged with one count of theft of government funds in the U.S. District Court in Concord, New Hampshire on May 26, 2026.
Prosecutors say he applied for and received $844,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) funds during the pandemic. He certified that the money would be used solely as working capital for his business, called Win Win Win.
Among the personal items prosecutors say Sanborn purchased with the funds was a 2006 Porsche Cayman, which he paid $48,750 for in January 2022.
Under a signed plea agreement, Sanborn faces one year and one day in federal prison and will be required to repay the full $255,232.72 he misappropriated. As part of the deal, federal prosecutors agreed not to charge the casino itself or his wife, former state Rep. Laurie Sanborn.
State Case
The federal case stems from an eight-month state investigation that found Sanborn had fraudulently obtained the pandemic loans by misrepresenting his business on the application. (He omitted the “Concord Casino” trade name and listed the business activity only as “Miscellaneous Services.”) New Hampshire’s attorney general, John Formella, referred the case to federal prosecutors.
Federal authorities noted that more than 15 people in New Hampshire have now been charged with pandemic relief fraud as part of a broader national crackdown by the Department of Justice.
Sanborn also faces separate state theft charges tied to New Hampshire’s Main Street Relief Fund. Prosecutors allege he inflated Concord Casino’s revenue by roughly $1 million to obtain an additional $188,000 in state aid.
Sanborn opened the Concord Casino in October 2019. It offered blackjack, roulette, and poker under New Hampshire’s charitable gaming laws, which require that a portion of the proceeds from gaming activities go to registered non-profit organizations.
The New Hampshire Lottery Commission ordered the casino to suspend all operations effective January 1, 2024, after determining Sanborn was “not suitable” to hold a gaming license.
Jury selection in the state case is scheduled for September, with trial set for February.
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