A saga involving alleged fraudulent procurement of COVID-19 relief funds by a former New Hampshire state senator for his casino took another unique turn Thursday when the state’s lottery commission ordered the casino to close on Jan. 1, although it could reopen with a new owner, the Concord Monitor reported.

The mandated shutdown is the first of a casino in New Hampshire, and it is believed to be the only time a casino has been ordered closed anywhere in the U.S. this year.

According to an investigation by the New Hampshire State Lottery, former Republican Sen. Andy Sanborn not only illegally obtained COVID-19 relief funds, which were not available to certain gambling operations, but also spent at least a portion of the funds on two Porsches and a Ferrari, which violates how relief money could be spent. Sanborn bought one of the cars for his wife, who is a New Hampshire state representative, and argued that all three were business expenses.

Sanborn owns the Concord Casino, located inside the Draft Sports Bar and Grill in the state capital of Concord, and had plans to open an additional charitable gaming location. An independent investigation commissioned by the lottery found that Sanborn illegally obtained $844,000 from the Small Business Administration during a three-month period between late 2021 and early 2022, according to the Associated Press.

The lottery ordered Sanborn to shut his casino down on New Year’s Day, but it said the casino could reopen under new ownership if it is sold within six months. Sanborn did not attend the hearing on the matter, and he has 15 days to appeal.

Lies of omission?

Michael King, the lottery’s independent hearing officer, determined that the casino license would not be revoked if a sale takes place, which Sanborn’s lawyers view as a victory, according to the Monitor.

“That is ultimately what we were fighting about … whether or not the license should be revoked, and the hearing officer decides that it shouldn’t be. So that’s a win for Win Win Win and Mr. Sanborn,” Sanborn’s attorney, Mark Knights, told the Monitor.

On the COVID relief funds application, Sanborn did not use the name “Concord Casino” but rather his “Win Win Win LLC” business name and characterized the business as “miscellaneous.” His lawyer argued that the company was a “charitable gaming consulting business,” according to the Monitor.

While the validity of the application is not under the lottery’s purview, it believes the truthfulness of the information on the application is. Sanborn is also being investigated by state and federal authorities.

King opted not to revoke Sanborn’s or the casino’s licenses, as this was Sanborn’s first revokable offense, but during the hearing, lottery staff indicated the relationship with Sanborn has been troublesome.

“He has been the most difficult and challenging to work with,” lottery commission auditing administrator Leila McDonough said at the hearing. “He doesn’t seem to think that the rules and regulations apply to him.”