Newport firm closes amid alleged embezzlement
Relax & Co., which provided an array of services to property owners in the Lake Sunapee area, had already been forced to lay off workers earlier this month.
Legal Briefs: News from Around NH
Man pleads guilty to defrauding COVID relief programs, Rep. Merner indicted ... and more
Derry man pleads guilty to defrauding COVID relief programs
A Derry man faces up to 30 years in prison for attempting to steal $2.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds by setting up phony businesses to collect money from the Paycheck Protection Program and other COVID-related initiatives.
David Dodge, 41, entered a plea of guilty to the fraud charges on Feb. 20 in U.S. District Court. Dodge’s wife and co-conspirator, Tammy, has a plea hearing on March 4.
Dodge claimed to own or control multiple businesses in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, with names like Teacher Tammy, Optimized Operations, and Business Done Right. None of these companies had actual operations or were serving any business purpose, according to U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire Jane Young.
Dodge submitted 30 fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans from private lenders; Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the Small Business Administration; and pandemic relief grants from the New Hampshire Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery and the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation.
Dodge took the Social Security number of a minor to apply for a Employer Identification Number from the IRS for a fake company called Consulting Services.
He created fake payroll reports, a doctored Limited Liability Company certificate, and fraudulent tax forms showing employee earnings of $45,000 each quarter at one of the fake companies.
Because the programs Dodge sought to defraud have safeguards in place, the majority of the money he requested was denied and the applications flagged for fraudulent behavior. Dodge did receive a payout of $219,323.
In addition to up to 30 years in prison, and five years of supervised release, Dodge faces a fine of $1 million. Sentencing in federal court is scheduled for May 29. — Katelyn Sahagian/Northofboston.com
Grand jury indicts former Rep. Merner for wrongful voting
A Coos County grand jury last Friday indicted former state representative and Lancaster selectman Troy Merner on one felony count of wrongful voting.
The indictment appears to be a replacement for an earlier charge that contained the wrong date for the 2023 Lancaster town election.
The original wrongful voting complaint charged the 62-year old Republican with knowingly voting in the March 8, 2023, Lancaster town election when he was not qualified to vote there because he was living in the town of Carroll. The new indictment corrects the date of the Lancaster town meeting to March 14, 2023, which is the actual date.
A Class B felony, the charge of wrongful voting carries a potential sentence of up to 7 years in the state prison and a fine of up to $4,000. A guilty finding on the felony charge would also cost Merner his right to vote in the state
Additionally, Merner was also charged in November with Class A misdemeanor counts of theft by deception, unsworn falsification, and tampering with public records or Information. Each of the misdemeanor counts carry a potential penalty of up to one year in the House of Corrections and a fine of up to $2,000.
Court documents show the NH Attorney General’s office first received a complaint in November 2022 that Merner was living in Carroll with his new wife while serving as a Lancaster selectman and state representative from Coos District 1, which does not include the town of Carroll. The complaint from the late former state representative Hebert Richard was followed by a similar complaint in March 2023 from Lancaster poll worker Kathy Lavoie.
Following a six-month investigation, the attorney general’s office determined Merner had moved to Carroll in August 2022, outside both the town and House district he represented. Merner resigned both positions but Democrats have questioned whether Republican leaders knew Merner was living outside his district but did not act sooner because their margin in the House was very tight.
A dispositional conference in the case is scheduled for March 11. — Barbara Tetreault/The Berlin Sun
Lawmakers consider bill to allow partisan school board elections in New Hampshire
New Hampshire lawmakers are weighing a proposal to allow the state’s school districts to hold partisan elections.
A bill by Rep. Dianne Pauer, a Brookline Republican, would allow school district voters to adopt a system to allow partisan candidates to run for school board. Under House Bill 1099, local political parties in those districts could then begin nominating school board candidates, who would appear on the ballot as Republicans or Democrats.
At a hearing Tuesday, Pauer presented the bill as a “tool in the toolbox,” and one that could allow voters to better understand the candidates they were electing.
The bill would not automatically apply: School districts could hold partisan elections only if voters in the district chose to adopt the model. And Pauer noted that state statute already allows towns and cities to hold partisan elections for select board members and other positions; though few, if any, do so, she said.
But other lawmakers raised concerns that allowing for partisan labels and local party nominees would only increase what have been at times bitterly contested local school board races, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and growing disputes over policies relating to race and LGBTQ+ rights.
“I’m wondering if you have any concerns about this bill contributing to division at the local level, because you would be taking something that is nonpartisan and serving the entire community and making it into partisan elections,” said Rep. Angela Brennan, a Bow Democrat, addressing Pauer.
Under the bill, in those school districts that did decide to participate, candidates would have three options, Pauer explained to lawmakers.
They could be nominated by their local Republican Party or Democratic Party committee at least five weeks ahead of the election. They could seek party affiliation themselves, by collecting at least 50 signatures from registered members of their party within the school district. Or they could avoid partisan labels and run unaffiliated by following the same process candidates do now: filing their candidacy with the school board clerk.
In order to nominate a candidate, a party would need to have won at least three percent of the vote in the previous statewide election, Pauer said.
Speaking up for the bill, Pauer rejected the idea that it would be divisive.
“Politics, whether you wear a label or not – it is partisan,” she said. “… So I don’t see that this is anything that’s going to contribute to what is already a reality with regards to government in our state.” — Ethan Dewitt/NH Bulletin
