Judge Removes Prosecutor in New Hampshire Casino Case
A state superior court judge has removed a prosecutor and financial expert from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s fraud case against Concord Casino owner Andy Sanborn due to “gross negligence” by the office during its investigation.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:Sanborn’s defense argued the state improperly searched the casino without a system to safeguard confidential legal documents. Merrimack County Superior Court Judge John Kissinger agreed, finding that the Attorney General’s office failed to protect privileged communications between Sanborn and his attorneys from the prosecution team.
In an order issued Wednesday, Kissinger said the state’s actions “demonstrate a complete lack of respect for [Sanborn’s] attorney-client privilege and work product protections.”
Related: Ousted New Hampshire Casino Owner Sanborn Files Suit against Attorney General
Privileged Documents Accessed by Assistant Attorney General
The judge said that while Sanborn’s legal team was assured they would have input in identifying privileged or potentially privileged materials, they were excluded from the process. Many of the documents were identified with a filter process and a technician from the Attorney General’s office deleted them from the database.
However, the technician was unaware that duplicates of the same documents had been stored in another folder and accessed by Assistant Attorney General David Lovejoy and financial expert Don Swanson.
Due to this, Judge Kissinger disqualified Lovejoy and Swanson from the case.
In response, Michael Garrity, spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office, acknowledged a “single, unintentional mistake” but said that it had been quickly addressed.
Most importantly, our prosecution of Mr. Sanborn continues. He remains criminally indicted. The NH DOJ acted in good faith and with transparency, promptly raising the issue with the court, and now continues to engage fully in the case in accordance with the court’s orders.
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Case Will Not Be Dismissed
Despite the misstep, Kissinger declined to dismiss the case or suppress evidence obtained during the May 2023 search of Sanborn’s casino, as requested by the defense. Nor did he grant Sanborn’s request for attorney’s fees. However, Kissinger left the door open for further action if additional misconduct is uncovered.
The ruling allows the state’s criminal theft case against Sanborn and his gaming company, Win Win Win, to proceed. Prosecutors allege Sanborn underreported the casino’s gross receipts by nearly $1 million to secure an additional $188,474 in pandemic assistance from the “Main Street Relief Fund”. Sanborn has pleaded not guilty.
Long Running Legal Dispute
The Attorney General’s office has been pursuing Sanborn on multiple fronts since August 2023, when Attorney General John Formella revoked Sanborn’s casino license over separate allegations. Formella claimed Sanborn defrauded another pandemic aid program by misrepresenting information to secure nearly $844,000 in loans, which he allegedly used in part for personal expenses, including race cars. No charges have been filed in that case, and federal authorities briefed on the matter have also taken no action.
Sanborn is appealing the license revocation to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, arguing the Attorney General’s office and the lottery commission acted illegally. He contends that selling the casino would benefit the public since gaming revenues support charities and state education funding. The court has yet to decide whether to hear the case.
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