By Tiffany Williams –
A Grand Jury in Strafford County, New Hampshire has indicted the former Sheriff of Strafford County, who was previously arrested on August 17, 2023.
Mark Brave of Tewksbury, Massachusett the former Sheriff of Strafford County is charged with one count of Theft by Deception, two counts of Falsifying Physical Evidence and five counts of Perjury.
Brave allegedly spent approximately $19,000.00 on personal expenses – including airfare, hotel stays, and dinners for personal trips to Boston, Florida, and other locations.
He is also 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.
As for the the five counts of perjury, according to court documents, Brave allegedly lied to a Strafford County Grand Jury about a female employee who traveled with him to Florida. That woman told investigators that she did not stay in the same hotel room as Sheriff Brave, but instead she had stayed with family. Later that female told 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.
Brave also told the grand jury he had traveled to Maryland 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. Instead Brave allegedly met a paramour who lived in the area.
Brave also allegedly lied to the grand jury about a dinner and a hotel stay in Boston. He told the grand jury that he had purchased the tickets in advance for him and a male deputy to attend a charity fundraiser. However, based on investigation, 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. Sheriff Brave is further alleged to have alternatively 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 but he later admitted that the paramour did spend the night with him at the hotel for romantic and sexual purposes.
Class A felonies are punishable by up to 7½-to-15 years in state prison and a fine of up to $4,000.00. Class B felonies are punishable by up to 3½-to-7 years in state prison and a fine of up to $4,000.00.
The charges against Mr. Brave are only allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Brave is currently released on a personal-recognizance bond and is scheduled to be back in Rockingham Superior Court for a dispositional conference on January 30, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. before the.