After a week defendant Former state Sen. Andy Sanborn on charges of pandemic aid fraud, the Attorney General’s Office announced Friday that it has brought identical charges against his Concord Casino.

The new charges represent the biggest threat yet to Sanborn’s ability to sell his casino. A conviction on the theft charges would bar the casino from holding a gaming license for 10 years. While it’s unclear whether the same loss of license will carry over to a new owner, the Attorney General’s Office declined to assure Sanborn’s buyer that it would not.

A conviction would also have implications for the state. Concord Casino has access to the last historic horse racing license available to offer slot games for at least the next seven years. Lawmakers set a moratorium on new licenses this year to give the relatively new market time to grow.

While the state shares all the revenue from charitable games, historic horse racing earns far more than table games like poker and blackjack. In August, the state collected about $640,000 from table games and $2.7 million from historic horse racingaccording to the New Hampshire Lottery Commission. These revenues are used to fund public education.

The Attorney General’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.

Sanborn’s attorney, Zachary Hafer, accused the state Friday of trying to thwart a sale by charging the casino separately from Sanborn.

“Given that Win Win Win is a single member LLC of which Mr. Sanborn is the sole member, the Attorney General cannot (and does not) allege that Win Win Win took any action different from Mr. Sanborn,” Hafer wrote in – an email. “There is therefore only one reason to charge Win Win Win: to try to block a Win Win Win sale that would benefit taxpayers, charities and the local community. This is a deeply concerning development and we look forward to holding the AG accountable in court.”

Sanborn is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in Merrimack County Superior Court.

He has not publicly identified his buyer, although his lawyers have revealed that the person has applied for a gaming license. The buyer has been waiting since at least September for a decision from the state on his request.

Prosecutors charged Win Win Win, the casino’s registered name, with theft by deception and theft by unauthorized taking. State Sanborn charged with the same charges for the same alleged activity earlier this month.

The charges announced Friday allege that in 2020, the casino defrauded the Main Street Relief Fund, a federal pandemic assistance program, of nearly $190,000 by misrepresenting its losses to qualify for a larger payment. As a result, prosecutors say the casino received $286,600, $188,474 more than it should have.

The indictments also allege the casino misrepresented it had been in business for at least a year, an eligibility requirement, when it had not.

These fees are distinct from fraud investigation launched by the state in Sanborn almost 14 months ago.

In that case, the Attorney General’s Office alleges that Sanborn misrepresented the nature of his company to obtain nearly $844,000 in Economic Injury Disaster Loans, another pandemic relief fund that was not open to casinos. The state also alleges Sanborn used the money to enrich himself, including spending $181,125 on race cars, two Porsches and a Ferrari.

Neither Sanborn nor his casino have been charged in connection with this investigation. But that case prompted the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and the Attorney General’s Office to move to revoke the casino’s gambling license last year.

An administrative law judge overseeing the case instead suspended the casino’s license and ordered Sanborn to close the business by January. Since then, Sanborn has been trying to close a deal. The judge set a September deadline for the sale, but the judge who took over the case this year gave Sanborn extra timewithout a clear deadline for now.

Judge Gregory Albert ruled in September that the loss to charities that benefited from the partnership with Concord Casino was significant enough to give Sanborn more time to sell. In its final year of operation, the casino gave proceeds from Concord Casino to nearly 30 charities last year before the state shut it down in December.

The Attorney General’s Office disputes Albert’s finding.