Feds Open Criminal Investigation Into Commanders On Same Day Dan Snyder Explores Sale Of Team

Commanders owner Dan Snyder could be in some hot with the federal government.

On Wednesday, the Snyders announced that they hire Bank of America to explore the sale of the team.

Hours after the Snyders released their statement, ESPN is now reporting that The U.S. attorney’s office has opened an investigation into allegations that the Commanders engaged in financial improprieties.

Via ESPN

The U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia has opened a criminal investigation into allegations that the Washington Commanders engaged in financial improprieties, two sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ESPN on Wednesday.

The sources said prosecutors are focused on several areas, and that the inquiry was triggered by a letter the House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent to the Federal Trade Commission and several attorneys general in April that alleged deceptive business practices. Attorneys general in Virginia and Washington, D.C., also are investigating allegations of financial impropriety.

Earlier this year a Congressional committee received information alleging the Washington Commanders used ‘two books’ of financial information to hide finances from the NFL.

The committee outlined through the testimony of former employees and access to emails and documents a pattern of financial impropriety by owner Dan Snyder and team executives. At one point in 2016, the team retained up to $5 million from 2,000 season-ticket holders while also concealing sharable revenue from the league, according to the committee.

One former employee testified before Congress, saying the team had two separate financial books: one with underreported ticket revenue that went to the NFL and the full, complete picture. According to testimony, Snyder was aware of the numbers shared with the league while also being privy to the actual data. The business practice was known as “juice” inside Washington’s front office.

According to other testimony, financial misconduct included making it intentionally difficult for season-ticket holders to recoup refundable deposit money, counting some of those leftover funds as a different kind of revenue that doesn’t need to be shared with the league, and shifting money from ticket sales for NFL games to other events at FedEx Field as a way of hiding that money from the league. The committee in the letter shared spreadsheet data showing evidence of deposits that were not returned. Citing emails and the testimony of Jason Friedman, a longtime vice president of sales and customer service, the letter said ticket sales from Washington games were shifted to a 2013 Kenny Chesney concert and a 2014 Navy-Notre Dame college football game as a way to “juice” revenue and keep it off the books shared with the NFL.

Jorge Alonso BroBible avatar
Brobible sports editor. Jorge is a Miami native and lifelong Heat fan. He has been covering the NBA, MLB and NFL professionally for almost 10 years, specializing in digital media.