Harrison Thorp 10:50 a.m.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023 10:49 am
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BRENTWOOD - Embattled Strafford County High Sheriff Mark Brave resigned on Tuesday, prompting prosecutors to allow him to remain free on bail while awaiting trial on multiple felony theft charges.
Brave, a Democrat, stands accused of stealing thousands of dollars from Strafford County by taking multiple trips to fictitious events, mostly for the purpose of romantic liaisons with multiple women. During these trips he racked up $19,000 of charges on his county-issued credit card.
Last month the state's Attorney Generals office began an effort to revoke Brave's bail based on allegations of perjury and that he no longer lives in New Hampshire, a requirement of being sheriff..
According to the AG's Office, in a video sent them from the Strafford County Sheriff's Office in October a 1968 Porsche 356 Cabriolet can be seen with Brave stating on the video that the vehicle had just been delivered.
The video is date-stamped Oct. 17, and shows the GPS location as Tewksbury, Mass.
Brave stands accused of one count of theft by deception (a class A felony) for stealing approximately $19,000 in Strafford County funds by submitting personal expenses for reimbursement with fraudulent justifications; two counts of falsifying physical evidence (both class B felonies) - one for submitting false reimbursement justifications, and one for altering a receipt submitted for reimbursement; and five counts of Perjury (all class B felonies) for lying in his testimony before the Strafford County Grand Jury during the course of the investigation.
The affidavit filed in this case alleges that Brave spent approximately $19,000 on personal expenses - including airfare, hotel stays, and dinners for personal trips to Boston, Florida, and other locations.
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 - false justifications such as attending conferences and meetings that he did not attend, that did not exist, or for organizations that did not exist.
Brave is also alleged to have lied during his testimony before the Strafford County Grand Jury on a variety of matters.
The first Perjury charge involves a female employee who traveled with Brave to Florida. The woman had previously told investigators that 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, but Brave is alleged to have repeated her earlier version of events, denying that she stayed in the same hotel room and claiming that she stayed with family.
The second perjury charge concerns allegations that Brave stated that he attended events for a fictitious law enforcement organization.
The third Perjury charge relates to a trip Brave took to Maryland during which Brave told the grand jury he was scheduled to meet with U.S. Representative Chris Pappas, but that 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, and no such gift of a flag as an apology ever took place. Rather, based on investigation, Brave is alleged to have actually met a paramour who lived in the area, according to a statement from the state AG's office.
The fourth and fifth Perjury charges concern a dinner cruise and hotel stay for Brave in Boston. He told the grand jury that he purchased the tickets in advance for him and a male deputy to attend a charity fund-raiser. However, based on investigation, Sheriff 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 is further alleged to have alternatively claimed in his testimony 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.
Brave has proclaimed his innocence, saying he was targeted by county leaders because he is black.