International Courant
The Harmony On line casino in New Hampshire, owned by former state senator Andy Sanborn, is scheduled to be quickly shut down on Jan. 1.The on line casino has the opportunity of reopening in six months if offered to a brand new proprietor, in response to the state lottery fee.In August, the fee tried to completely revoke Sanborn’s gaming license, alleging he fraudulently obtained $844,000 in reduction funds.
A New Hampshire on line casino owned by a former state senator accused of shopping for luxurious automobiles with a fraudulently obtained COVID-19 reduction mortgage will probably be shut down Jan. 1 however allowed to reopen in six months if offered to a brand new proprietor, the state lottery fee mentioned in a call made public Thursday
The fee tried in August to completely revoke Andy Sanborn’s gaming operator’s license, however he appealed the choice and requested a listening to earlier than an unbiased examiner. That listening to was held earlier this month, and a call was issued Wednesday.
Sanborn, a Republican from Bedford, owns the Harmony On line casino inside The Draft Sports activities Bar and Grill in Harmony and was looking for to open a a lot bigger charitable gaming venue a couple of miles away. However the fee argued that his license must be revoked as a result of he improperly obtained federal funds, misrepresented how he spent the cash, paid himself massive sums as hire and did not maintain correct data total.
FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE SENATOR ACCUSED OF USING COVID-19 RELIEF FUNDS TO BUY LUXURY CARS
In accordance with the investigation, Sanborn fraudulently obtained $844,000 in funding from the Small Enterprise Administration between December 2021 and February 2022. Casinos and charitable gaming services weren’t eligible for such loans, however Sanborn omitted his enterprise identify, “Harmony On line casino,” from his software and listed his major enterprise exercise as “miscellaneous companies,” officers mentioned.
Andy Sanborn attends a debate on Sept. 6, 2018, at St. Anselm Faculty in Manchester, N.H. The previous state senator and on line casino proprietor is accused of shopping for luxurious automobiles with a fraudulently obtained COVID-19 reduction mortgage. (AP Photograph/Elise Amendola, File)
He’s accused of spending $181,000 on two Porsche race automobiles and $80,000 on a Ferrari for his spouse. Sanborn additionally paid himself greater than $183,000 for what he characterised as hire for his Harmony properties, investigators mentioned.
In his ruling, hearings examiner Michael King mentioned it was not inside his purview to find out if the mortgage software was fraudulent, however mentioned submitting it with “clear false and/or deceptive info” was sufficient to droop his license as a result of such motion “undermines the general public confidence in charitable gaming.” He additionally rejected Sanborn’s declare that the automobiles weren’t bought with the mortgage, saying there was a “straight line” from the receipt of the mortgage to the acquisition of the automobiles. And he famous that not one of the automobiles had been American made, which violates the phrases of the mortgage.
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Revocation of the license was not applicable, King mentioned, as a result of different license holders had been given alternatives to promote their companies previous to suspensions or revocations.
Sanborn, who didn’t attend the listening to as a result of he was at a medical appointment, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Thursday. His lawyer had argued that the state’s total case was constructed on a sloppy investigation and unproven allegations in regards to the COVID-19 reduction mortgage.
On the time the allegations had been introduced in August, officers mentioned federal authorities had been notified and that the state had begun a prison investigation.
New Hampshire on line casino faces closure over alleged COVID-19 reduction fraud
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