Andy Sanborn says he’s ready to walk away from charitable gaming entirely, hoping to sell Concord Casino and move on, his lawyers say, but obstacles from the Lottery Commission and Attorney General’s Office, including criminal charges accusing him of misusing pandemic relief aid, are making the sale anything but simple.

Adam Katz, one of Sanborn’s attorneys, argued that after nearly a year of efforts to work out a sale of the casino that was suitable to the state, state officials have consistently delayed any deal by ignoring potential buyers and failing to provide clear direction, which amounts to bad faith.

“Mr. Sanborn does not want to be involved in the business. He does not want to be involved with gaming,” said Katz. “He wants to put this mess far in the rearview mirror and quietly end this.”

As far as state agencies are concerned, the clock has run out for Sanborn. 

An order signed by hearing officer Michael King last December required Sanborn to sell the business to a buyer approved by the Lottery Commission by September 30 or face the revocation of his license. Sanborn has already been granted multiple extensions to sell the casino and appeal his license revocation, with the most recent allowing for an additional 15 days after the state conducts a suitability review of a buyer.

Now that the review is complete, Senior Assistant Attorney General Jessica King said the “next step is just to institute the revocation.” 

The state also informed new hearing officer Gregory Albert that the hearings regarding Sanborn’s sale of Concord Casino are no longer required.

“It’s smoke and mirrors and hyperbole. There’s no evidence that the state came in to purposefully do anything wrong,” said King. “If we keep going down this road, these proceedings are simply just never going to end. It’s time to have a little bit of finality so we can move on to what is going to be other proceedings in other jurisdictions.”

At a Friday hearing, neither the state nor Sanborn’s attorneys confirmed the New Hampshire Lottery Commission’s final decision regarding the review of the buyer’s suitability. However, the outcome appeared unfavorable to Sanborn.

Katz said that the state’s suitability letter raised no concerns about the buyer and that the sale could proceed smoothly if the state allowed it. He added that the buyer is actively trying to engage with the state to address concerns raised in the letter, with the possibility that the state might ultimately agree with the buyer’s position.

As a result, Sanborn’s attorneys are requesting an extension to allow that process to unfold.

“There is no criticism of the buyer’s background. There is no criticism of the buyer’s credentials. There is not one blemish on the buyer’s record that the suitability letter cites,” said Katz.

State law does not provide clear avenues to appeal a denial of suitability.

Katz argued that granting an extension for the buyer to work with the state would help avoid litigation.

“That is one of the maddening aspects of this case, being told that the state is not trying to block the sale while they are literally blocking the sale,” said Katz. “I do think that is reflective of being told the state is not the big bad wolf. But this wolf does come as a wolf.”

Sanborn, a former state Senator, was indicted on charges of theft by deception and unauthorized taking stemming from an ongoing criminal investigation into his use of pandemic relief funds. He’s accused of inflating his 2019 gross receipts to receive $188,000 more from the Main Street Relief Fund grant than he was eligible to receive and then used that money to pay off a mortgage on a lake house owned by his wife, State Rep. Laurie Sanborn.

Sanborn has sued the Attorney General’s office and has asked a judge to halt that investigation. He also filed a lawsuit against the Lottery Commission in an effort to facilitate the sale of his business. He is seeking a ruling from the Merrimack Superior Court that would prevent any felony or misdemeanor convictions tied to his ownership of Win Win Win, which owns Concord Casino, from affecting the buyer after the sale.

“Without such a judicial declaration, plaintiffs stand to lose the proceeds of the pending sale,” wrote his attorneys.

Sanborn’s legal troubles began when a joint investigation by the Attorney General’s office and the Lottery Commission found that Sanborn had applied for and misused $844,000 in federal pandemic loans to fund his lavish lifestyle.

Sruthi Gopalakrishnan can be reached at sgopalakrishnan@cmonitor.com