Federal authorities announced Tuesday that casino owner and former state Senator Andy Sanborn has agreed to plead guilty to misusing more than $250,000 in federal pandemic aid intended for his business. Sanborn used some of the money to buy a Porsche, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Sanborn, whose Concord Casino was shuttered by the state for the same alleged fraud in 2023, faces up to 10 years in prison. But federal prosecutors will recommend he serve one year and one day, according to the plea agreement.
Sanborn could also be fined up to $250,000 and forced to pay restitution. The plea agreement absolves Sanborn’s wife, former House member Laurie Sanborn, of any potential criminal liability. She has not been charged in connection with the investigation.
Sanborn received $844,000 federal pandemic loans from the Small Business Administration nearly four years ago. His decision to plead guilty to misusing the loan marks a significant change of course for Sanborn.
Previously, Sanborn had vehemently denied any wrongdoing since New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella first announced the fraud allegations three years ago, when the state revoked his license to run a casino.
According to documents in that case, Sanborn spent $181,000 in pandemic aid on two Porsches and a Ferrari for his wife. He spent $45,000 on car parts and services; $183,500 in rent payments to his own businesses; and almost $30,000 for engineering services on a construction connected to his casino project, according to New Hampshire Lottery Commission records.
Sanborn is still fighting the revocation in the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
The federal charge announced Tuesday notes the purchase of one Porsches but does not identify the other expenses included.
Sanborn is also fighting criminal charges in state court that allege he defrauded a separate pandemic assistance program for New Hampshire businesses in 2020. Those charges allege that Sanborn misrepresented his casino’s gross receipts by nearly $1 million in order to increase his grant from the “Main Street Relief Fund” by nearly $188,474.
The U.S. Attorney's office began pursuing fraud cases during the pandemic. Between 2022 and 2024, it secured guilty pleas from at least 10 individuals in New Hampshire. Some cases involved the same loan program Sanborn used.
Heath Gauthier, of Rochester, pleaded guilty to applying for more than $1 million in assistance for non-existent companies.
Tammy and David Dodge, of Derry, pleaded guilty to attempting to obtain $2.5 million from various pandemic relief programs.
Pierre Rogers, of California, was sentenced in New Hampshire to 41 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud in connection with $4.8 million in pandemic aid applications.
Charles Clark, of Merrimack, pleaded guilty to obtaining $62,000 in pandemic aid by claiming he was an independent contractor in the hair and nail salon industry when he was actually a full-time IRS employee. He used the money to renovate an investment property he owned, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
In a press release Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Sanborn’s case was brought under a new federal agency, the National Fraud Enforcement Division that was created on April 7 and focuses on misuse of federal benefits.
Neither Sanborn nor his attorneys could be reached for comment.