A Merrimack County Superior Court judge wants to protect criminal investigative records into Andy Sanborn, owner and operator of Concord Casino, in the event that he is charged with a crime.
Judge John Kissinger said that all documents in a civil case Sanborn filed against the New Hampshire Attorney General cannot be unsealed without review and redaction because it “involves search warrants and this is a situation where Mr. Sanborn has not been indicted or charged.”
“I just want that to be done in a way that protects the integrity of the fact that matters are under investigation at a pre-indictment stage right now,” said Judge Kissinger. “We’re not talking about post-indictment. We’re not talking about some generic civil case.”
While Sanborn’s case concerns litigation over a search warrant obtained by the state and is related to his business, WIN WIN WIN LLC, which operated the now-closed Concord Casino on South Main Street, the specifics of the case remain publicly unavailable.
On Wednesday, the hearing centered on the motions to unseal documents in the case filed by the Concord Monitor and New Hampshire Bulletin.
Attorney Gregory Sullivan, representing Annmarie Timmins, a reporter with the Bulletin, argued for the immediate unsealing of at least the original complaint of the lawsuit filed on July 30.
“It’s hard for anyone who’s apparently not counseling, even perhaps someone who is counsel, who would intervene to access exactly what has been sealed and what has not been sealed,” said Sullivan in court.
By Oct. 3, both parties are expected to submit a joint proposal to the judge outlining which documents should be unsealed, the extent of redaction required, and how these documents should be handled moving forward.
Attorney Adam Katz, representing Sanborn, said that their redactions will be limited.
The mention of search warrants in the proceedings indicates that there is a criminal investigation into Sanborn and his business, WIN WIN WIN LLC.
Last year, a joint investigation by the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and the Attorney General’s Office revealed that Sanborn had fraudulently obtained and misused $844,000 in pandemic relief funds — money meant for small businesses, not casinos.
The loan application was submitted under the name WIN WIN WIN LLC.
An unsealed document in the case reveals that nearly 6,700 documents, some potentially containing privileged or sensitive materials, were accessed and downloaded by attorneys representing the New Hampshire Attorney General before a taint team had a chance to review them.
A taint team plays a crucial role in ensuring that attorneys involved in the investigation or prosecution do not access potentially privileged information and determine what can be disclosed to the investigative or prosecutorial teams.
In recent months, Sanborn’s legal team has repeatedly accused the Attorney General of acting in bad faith and deliberately hindering the sale of Concord Casino.
With a looming deadline of Sept. 30 to finalize the sale, failure to meet this deadline could result in a two-year suspension of Sanborn’s gaming operator license.
Now, Sanborn’s attorneys are requesting an additional 15 to 40 days to finalize the sale.
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