WASHINGTON D.C., DC — DC Attorney General Karl Racine says “there will be more news next week” on his office’s investigation into alleged financial irregularities in the Washington Commanders ticket office, including accusations the team improperly withheld deposits from season ticket holders who did not renew their seats.
The news came as Racine announced his office was filing a consumer protection lawsuit against the Commanders, owner Dan Snyder, the National Football League and Commissioner Roger Goodell alleging the team and Snyder lied to DC residents about what they knew about a toxic culture of sexual harassment within the organization, and then they entered into a secret agreement with the NFL and Goodell to hide the truth.
That lawsuit focuses on Beth Wilkinson’s investigation into the Commanders' toxic workplace, which was handed over to the NFL after public outcry that any investigation done by the team would be a "sham." On Thursday Racine said his office had been conducting that investigation since June 2021.
In April 2022, Racine's office launched a separate investigation into allegations that surfaced during the House Oversight Committee’s investigation into the team, which included testimony from Jason Friedman, a former vice president of sales and customer service for the team alleging the Commanders engaged in a long-running practice of withholding refundable deposits from season ticket holders and hiding money that was supposed to be shared among other NFL owners.
106.7 sports talk radio host Grant Paulsen tweeted out a letter from the Commanders recently sent to a former season ticket holder informing him he may be “entitled to a refund” from an old security deposit the fan made on premium season tickets in the Club Level. That fan, who asked not to be identified, told WUSA9 his family cancelled their season tickets 14 years ago, and the team is now in the process of refunding him $950.
Paulsen tells WUSA9 he’s heard from other listeners who received similar letters. But Commanders spokesperson Jean Medina said the team did not improperly keep season ticket holder deposits.
"We haven’t collected deposits in nearly a decade, and we began returning deposits to season ticket holders as early as late 2004," Media said in an email to WUSA9. "We sent a letter a few weeks ago as part of the most recent outreach to return deposits to season ticket holders."
The Commanders and Snyder are also the subject of a second NFL investigation into sexual abuse allegations, and another investigation conducted by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.
The Commanders and attorneys for Snyder have consistently denied wrongdoing other than acknowledging the toxic workplace environment outlined in the Wilkinson investigation, for which Snyder agreed to a one year suspension and $10 million dollar fine.