DOVER, N.H. — Mark A. Brave, who resigned this week from his elected post as sheriff of Strafford County, N.H., has been indicted on eight felony charges.
New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella announced Friday that the grand jury’s indictment alleges Brave committed one count of theft by deception, two counts of falsifying physical evidence, and five counts of perjury stemming from allegations he had misused public funds and lied about it.
Brave is accused of submitting false justifications for reimbursement and altering expense-related documentation. He is accused of using taxpayer money for personal purposes, including meet-ups with various romantic interests, and falsely claiming his travels were for law enforcement functions.
The perjury charges allege Brave lied to the grand jury about several situations, including trips he took to Florida in August 2022, Maryland in February, and Boston for a dinner cruise and weekend stay in May.
County officials said Brave initially told them a male deputy had joined him on the trip to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., but investigators determined a female employee had actually been the one who traveled with him and shared a hotel room. Brave is accused of lying about their sleeping arrangements.
Brave told the Globe in August their Florida trip was for “work-related research” for a new job title he planned to create for the employee. By his own account, however, the research was haphazard and cost-ineffective. He said they found it “impossible to meet with anyone,” so he just asked deputies in the Broward County Sheriff’s Office “a couple of questions” and got a copy of the relevant job description.
The employee, who no longer works for the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office, testified that Brave informed her upon their arrival that their meetings had been canceled, according to court records. She testified that she didn’t do any work on the trip.
In relation to his Maryland trip, Brave is accused of lying about a meeting he had supposedly scheduled with Representative Chris Pappas. Brave said the meeting was canceled at the last minute, but the congressman’s office said it had no record of any such meeting ever being on the calendar. Prosecutors say Brave met up with a paramour on that trip.
For the dinner cruise in Boston, Brave claimed he had purchased two tickets for himself and the same male deputy who had supposedly joined him in Florida, but investigators concluded he celebrated the birthday of a romantic interest who stayed at a hotel with him.
When the allegations came to light, Brave initially resisted calls to step aside while the investigation was underway, but he placed himself on paid administrative leave in August after fellow Strafford County officials gave him an ultimatum to do so or be ousted.
The prosecutors on the case, assistant attorneys general Joe M. Fincham II and David M. Lovejoy, argued in November that Brave’s new residency in Tewksbury, Mass., rendered him ineligible to hold his Strafford County office. Brave resigned on Tuesday and now has the court’s permission to live out-of-state while he awaits trial.
Brave has also been accused of a sweeping pattern of dishonest dealings that extend beyond the criminal allegations he faces.
A year ago, police took Brave into protective custody when his wife was accused of drunken driving and he was too intoxicated to drive himself home. County officials concluded Brave had been deceptive when telling fellow officials about his whereabouts that night.
Brave, a Democrat, has said he didn’t intend to deceive anyone regarding the circumstances of his wife’s arrest. He has also insisted that he never meant to deceive voters when he falsely claimed to hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees before his 2020 election and 2022 reelection.
Brave, who maintains his innocence, declined to speak with reporters after a court hearing on Tuesday.
In his resignation letter, he expressed pride in having been New Hampshire’s first Black sheriff.
“I look forward to resolving my pending legal matter and to serving my constituents again in the future,” he wrote.
The most serious charge in the indictment, theft by deception, is a Class A felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The other charges are Class B felonies punishable by up to seven years in prison.
Brave was arrested Aug. 17 and released on personal recognizance. He remains free on that bond while he awaits trial. Prosecutors had pushed for the court to revoke Brave’s bail conditions, but they relented when he resigned.
Brave’s next scheduled court hearing is Jan. 30.
Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.