A New Hampshire man was sentenced Thursday in federal court for fraudulently obtaining over $1 million in COVID relief funds and using them to buy a golf course.
Michael Kirouac, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante to 15 months in prison and one year of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. He had pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud back in October.
“The defendant stole over a million dollars from taxpayers amidst one of the worst health and economic crises in a century,” said Erin Creegan, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire. “This office will continue to vigilantly investigate and prosecute those who defraud pandemic relief programs.”
During the early part of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. The CARES Act included multiple relief provisions to help those adversely affected by the pandemic, including the Paycheck Protection Program.
The loans, which were supposed to be used for payroll, were fully guaranteed by the government. If borrowers used the PPP loans for payroll and other approved expenses as intended, they could apply for loan forgiveness. The CARES Act also opened up the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. As with PPP loans, EIDL loans were supposed to be used for payroll and other business expenses such as rent and mortgage.
Kirouac owned or controlled four companies, prosecutors said, including HK Manchester, HK Loudon, HK Hudson, and HK Pelham. He applied for and obtained over $1 million worth of EIDL loans for the companies. He said he would use the loan proceeds solely as working capital and would not use the funds for personal expenses or to relocate the businesses from one location to another.
Beginning in 2021, Kirouac was looking to purchase a golf course, prosecutors said. He was unable to obtain financing from banks and private lenders and instead obtained EIDLs on behalf of HK Manchester and HK Loudon. He used approximately $600,000 of EIDL funds intended for HK Manchester and HK Loudon to help buy the Angus Lea Golf Course in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He also misused EIDL funds he obtained for HK Pelham.
Separately, Kirouac obtained a $260,500 EIDL for HK Hudson. But he had already agreed to sell HK Hudson to a third party when he signed for the loan and did not disclose that fact to the SBA.
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of the Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigations, and SBA’s Office of the Inspector General led the investigation, with assistance from the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section.
