Sheriff Mark Brave charged with stealing $19K from county, lying about affair

CONCORD — Strafford County Sheriff Mark Brave was arrested and charged with eight felonies after turning himself in to state police Thursday. He is accused of stealing approximately $19,000 in county funds by submitting personal expenses for reimbursement with "fraudulent justifications," and committing perjury by lying about an extramarital affair and his expenditures, according to state Attorney General John Formella.

Brave allegedly misused county credit cards on "airfare, hotel stays, and dinners for personal trips to Boston, Florida, and other locations," according to Formella.

“The decision to charge an elected constitutional officer was not made lightly,” Formella said.  “However, no person is above the law, and the evidence in this case required action.  It is my hope that the public will be reassured that there will be equal justice under the law for every person in this state – including public officials.”

Brave is charged with one count of theft by deception (a Class A felony). He also faces two counts of falsifying physical evidence (both Class B felonies) and five counts of perjury (Class B felonies) for lying to a Strafford County grand jury during the investigation that first became public in June.

Brave is facing up to 31½ to 64 years in prison and fines of up to $32,000 if convicted on all counts, according to Formella. He said Brave remained sheriff Thursday, pending a process to be led by county leaders.

Formella said Brave is alleged to have deceived Strafford County officials and "attempted to hide the personal nature of these purchases by falsifying one receipt to remove the identity of a female companion, and by submitting numerous false justifications for reimbursement such as attending conferences and meetings that he did not attend, that did not exist, or for organizations that did not exist."

The first perjury charge involves a female employee who traveled with Brave to Florida, according to Formella. The woman had told investigators she did not stay in the same hotel room as Brave but had stayed with family instead.  She later admitted to the grand jury that she did stay in the same hotel room as Brave, Formella said, but Brave is alleged to have repeated her earlier lie.

The second perjury charge alleges Brave stated that he attended events for a fictitious law enforcement organization, Formella said.

The third perjury charge relates to a trip Brave took to Maryland, Formella said. He said Brave told the grand jury he was scheduled to meet with U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-New Hampshire, but the congressman had to cancel the meeting and gave Brave a flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol as an apology.  Records from the congressman’s office indicate that no such meeting was ever scheduled, Formella said, and there was no gift of a flag. Brave is alleged to have actually met a paramour who lived in the area.

The fourth and fifth perjury charges concern a dinner cruise and hotel stay for Brave in Boston. Formella said Brave told the grand jury that he purchased the tickets in advance for him and a male deputy to attend a charity fundraiser.  However, based on investigation, Formella said, Brave is alleged to have bought the tickets on the same day as the cruise for himself and another paramour to attend the event together – which was on the paramour’s birthday. Brave claimed in his testimony that that he did not remember the trip, that no one stayed with him at his hotel, and that he did not recall if his paramour spent the night with him – before later admitting that the paramour spent the night with him at the hotel for "romantic and sexual purposes," Formella said.

This case is being investigated by New Hampshire Department of Justice investigators and is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Joe Fincham and Assistant Attorney General David Lovejoy of the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Unit.

Brave said he is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 28 at 12:30 p.m. in Strafford County Superior Court in Dover. Brave said he will appear in court that day and will not waive the arraignment. Formella said Strafford County judges are recusing themselves from Brave's case and a Rockingham County judge will preside.

Brave turns himself in, says he did nothing wrong

Brave arrived at state police Troop A in Epping around 12:45 p.m. and was seen walking into the building around 1 p.m. He said at that time his attorneys had told him the staff at the attorney general's office believed they had probable cause to bring charges against him, based on an investigation that began in June after Strafford County commissioners made allegations of misconduct.

"I will go in civilian clothing, no weapons and bring my $40 for the bail commissioner," Brave said Thursday, prior to arriving in Epping. "I expect I will be photographed and fingerprinted. What I want is to get ahead of this situation and to get a trial date. I will fight this all the way. If I had done anything wrong, I'd own it. But I, 100%, did nothing wrong."

Brave said he believes the charges against him were due to trumped-up allegations by the county commissioners.

Brave spoke openly about the details of the allegations during an earlier interview.

He said he has been accused of wrongdoing in connection with trips he took to Florida with a woman employed in his department, including allegations he misused county funds to pay for the trips. He said it was also "implied" he and the woman were having an affair.

"That is simply not true," he said previously. "As for the trips, it was strictly business, and my budget includes $18,000 for travel expenses. I misspent nothing. We send deputies out all the time to visit other departments, to gain fresh ideas. … That is what this was."

Brave said another allegation involves him using county money to pay for housing for the same employee. He said that is also untrue.

Brave vowed to run for reelection in 2024, promising to return to work in Dover Thursday after turning himself in to police.

"I will not step down until I am forced to, until charges against me make it necessary," he said.

Previous story: Sheriff Brave publicly fights criminal, internal probes

Because he is an elected official, the commissioners have not been able to remove Brave. He previously declined a request to go on paid leave during the investigation.

Brave is being represented by attorneys Tim Harrington and Brian Quirk of Shaheen and Gordon.

Brave said he believes the commissioners are determined to get rid of him because they do not like the way he runs his office. Like Brave, all three county commissioners are elected Democrats: George Maglaras, Deanna Rollo and Robert Watson.

Investigation into Mark Brave

The New Hampshire attorney general's office opened a criminal investigation into Brave for violations of state law on the job, including theft, falsification of official matters and abuse of office. Brave was informed in a letter June 2 from Senior Assistant Attorney General Dan Jimenez, chief of the Public Integrity Unit.

"They are raising all these allegations and rumors, trying to discredit me," Brave said, at the time, adding he hired the Shaheen and Gordon law firm to represent him. "This is a political attack by people who are supposed to be in my corner."

Brave said Thursday before his arrest he had not been informed of any indictments against him, but he believed a secret grand jury was convened to consider charges.

"Once the AG makes their statement, I believe the Strafford County commissioners will need to call a meeting of the full delegation to decide their next moves," Brave said before his arrest Thursday. "We will be ready because I intend to fight this."

Brave is state's first Black sheriff

Brave was elected as the state's first Black sheriff in November 2020, sworn into office in January 2021 and reelected to a second two-year term in 2022. In confirming the investigation against him, Brave said the Strafford County commissioners want him gone because he doesn't do things the way they expect.

Prior to becoming sheriff, Brave, a Dover resident, was a lieutenant overseeing standards and training for the Strafford County sheriff's office.

Public records show Brave met June 8 in a non-public session with Strafford County commissioners Rollo and Watson, as well as Tom Velardi, the county attorney, and Ray Bower, the county administrator. This meeting was six days after the sheriff was informed of the investigation. Maglaras, the chairman of the county commissioners, was not present for the meeting because, according to Velardi, he's a "fact witness in the underlying dispute being appealed."

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Sheriff Mark Brave charged with theft from county, perjury