Report: At least one subpoena has been issued in federal criminal investigation of Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders

Legal troubles haven’t gone away for Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders

There are plenty of things going on behind the scenes for Dan Snyder and the Washington Commanders as a potential sale of the team is progressing. The NFL’s investigation, led by Mary Jo White, is still going on more than a year after Snyder once again tried to hire someone to investigate himself. The House Oversight Committee’s investigation into Snyder and the team ended, but several other lawsuits were started because of allegations made to Congress.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office of Eastern Virginia started a criminal investigation last year over financial irregularities. That case remains open, and FOS is reporting that at least one subpoena has been issued as part of the probe.

Commanders attorney John Brownlee issued the following statement about the investigation: “The team has been fully cooperating with the Eastern District of Virginia since it received a request for records last year. The requested records only relate to customer security deposits and the team’s ticket sales and revenue. The team will continue to cooperate with this investigation.”

The financial improprieties allegation, made by former vice president of sales and customer service Jason Friedman, that got the most media attention was that Washington kept two sets of books to hide income from other NFL owners, teams, and players. This was seen as a silver bullet that could finally kill the beast that’s been holding the franchise down if it could be proven true. Other allegations were made about Washington strategically making it more difficult for customers to get the refundable deposits that should have been returned. The team paid a $250,000 fine in a settlement agreement with Maryland, and two lawsuits were filed by former Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine.

News broke on November 2nd last year that Dan and Tanya Snyder hired Bank of America Securities to look into all options for the sale of the team. A third potential owner/ownership group has reportedly toured team headquarters. The sale is going slower than many people would like, but most reports/speculation say that a majority stake of the team will be sold. The question remains whether it will be approved by the other NFL owners at next month’s meetings, or it will drag on into the summer months, raising the general anxiety levels of the fanbase.