The Eastern District of Virginia’s U.S. attorney’s office has launched a criminal investigation of the Commanders pertaining to alleged financial wrongdoings, according to ESPN.
The investigation reportedly stems from the letter sent to the Federal Trade Commission by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Oversight and Reform in April. The letter alleged the franchise and co-owner Dan Snyder “may have engaged in a troubling, long-running, and potentially unlawful pattern of financial conduct that victimized thousands of team fans and the National Football League.”
That same week, a spokesperson for Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares acknowledged they received the letter, and said that the office is reviewing it.
The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Sports Illustrated, included testimony from one of the franchise’s former sales executives, Jason Friedman. Some of the allegations cited are as follows.
- Alleged misappropriation of funds—withholding customers’ security deposits on premium seating as well as using the money for other purposes, that totaled “approximately $5 million” from “around 2,000 accounts.”
- Ticket revenue, which is supposed to be shared with the NFL, was underreported. Friedman said, “the team maintained ‘two sets of books’—one that was shared with the NFL but underreported certain ticket revenue, and another internal set of books that included the complete and accurate revenue and was ‘shown to Mr. Snyder.’”
ESPN’s report comes the same day that news broke of Dan and Tanya Snyder hiring Bank of America to potentially sell the team. It comes more than two weeks after Colts owner Jim Irsay said Dan Snyder should be removed, adding that he believes there’s enough owners’ votes to do it.
A statement from John Brownlee, the Commanders’ legal counsel, regarding the reported federal investigation, was provided to Sports Illustrated.
“It is not surprising that ESPN is publishing more falsehoods based solely on anonymous sources – given today’s announcement. The Washington Commanders have fully cooperated with federal and state investigators since the House Oversight Review Committee sent its letter to the FTC on April 12, 2022 – now nearly 7 months ago. The team has produced tens of thousands of records in response to the requests.
“The investigations, which ESPN’s anonymous sources have mischaracterized, are premised on the same baseless allegations made by a disgruntled former employee, Jason Friedman, who also is represented by the law firm of Katz Banks. We are confident that, after these agencies have had a chance to review the documents and complete their work, they will come to the same conclusion as the team’s internal review – that these allegations are simply untrue.”
This new federal criminal investigation is not the only inquiry Dan Snyder faces. The congressional committee launched an investigation of its own in October 2021, more than a year after the Washington Post released an article that detailed workplace sexual harassment experienced by 15 former employees within the franchise. But, the alleged misconduct extended beyond the report. Other instances include numerous alleged attempts to interfere in the league’s investigation and other accounts of alleged sexual misconduct. Snyder and Roger Goodell did testify before the committee at separate times.
The league hired former SEC chair Mary Jo White to investigate alleged misconduct within the organization. This includes the allegation of Snyder sexually assaulting a woman on an airplane in 2009. Following the initial investigation, the NFL levied a $10 million fine and sanctions against Snyder.
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