A Modern Hampshire man was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and one year of supervised release on Wednesday for using over $1 million in COVID-19 relief funds to purchase a golf course, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for New Hampshire announced.
Michael Kirouac, 38, of Pembroke, pleaded guilty in October to one count of wire fraud, according to prosecutors. Investigators found that Kirouac fraudulently obtained more than $1 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These loans were intended to help small businesses maintain payroll and cover expenses during the pandemic’s early stages.
Instead of using the funds as intended, Kirouac used approximately $600,000 to acquire the Angus Lea Golf Course in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, after being denied traditional financing, authorities said.
“The defendant stole over a million dollars from taxpayers amidst one of the worst health and economic crises in a century,” U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan stated. “This office will continue to vigilantly investigate and prosecute those who defraud pandemic relief programs.”
Court documents reveal that Kirouac owned or controlled four companies – HK Manchester, HK Loudon, HK Hudson, and HK Pelham – through which he applied for and received the EIDL funds. He certified that the loans would be used as working capital and not for personal expenses or business relocation. Prosecutors detailed that Kirouac obtained EIDL funds for HK Manchester and HK Loudon beginning in 2021, diverting a significant portion toward the golf course purchase, and similarly misused funds associated with HK Pelham.
Kirouac also received a $260,500 EIDL loan for HK Hudson despite having already agreed to sell the company, failing to disclose the pending sale to the Small Business Administration when applying for the loan, according to authorities.
“Today’s sentencing of Michael Kirouac demonstrates IRS-CI’s continued commitment to prosecuting all those who took advantage of the CARES Act for their own undue self-enrichment,” said Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Kirouac defrauded a federal program designed to help those most in require at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with the intent of misappropriating these funds to purchase a golf course, while others, who were truly in need, struggled.”
The investigation was led by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of the Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigations, and the Small Business Administration’s Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen prosecuted the case.
