New Hampshire man stole $1M in COVID funds to buy golf course

A New Hampshire man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for using $1 million in COVID relief funds to buy a golf course.

Michael Kirouac, 38, of Pembroke, New Hampshire, also got one year of supervised release for his scheme to purchase Angus Lea Golf Course in Hillsborough, New Hampshire.

“The defendant stole over a million dollars from taxpayers amidst one of the worst health and economic crises in a century,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan.

“The defendant misappropriated critical funds intended for legitimate businesses harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed by Congress. The program was designed to provide financial relief via the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

In 2021, Kirouac looked into buying a golf course but was unable to secure financing from banks and/or private lenders, so he turned to EIDL funds to finance his purchase of Angus Lea.

Kirouac owned or controlled four companies and applied for and obtained more than $1 million worth of EIDLs. The U.S. Attorney’s office said that Kirouac certified he would use the loans as “working capital and would not use the funds for personal expenses or to relocate the businesses from one location to another.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of the Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigations, and SBA’s Office of the Inspector General led the investigation. The Department of Justice’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen prosecuted the case.