The founder and former CEO of Granite Recovery Centers (GRC), Eric Spofford, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston. The charges allege that Spofford orchestrated a conspiracy to stalk journalists from New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) following unfavorable reporting about him.
Spofford, aged 40, hails from Salem, New Hampshire, and Miami, Florida. He faces one count of conspiracy to commit stalking through interstate travel and using a facility of interstate commerce; one count of stalking using a facility of interstate commerce; and two counts of stalking through interstate travel. He was arrested on May 16, 2025, and is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on June 2, 2025.
Granite Recovery Centers is a for-profit drug and alcohol treatment company founded by Spofford in New Hampshire in 2008. In March 2022, NHPR published an article detailing allegations against Spofford concerning sexual misconduct and abusive leadership during his tenure at GRC. The report attracted significant media attention. Spofford denied the allegations publicly and later filed a defamation lawsuit against NHPR, which was dismissed by a judge in New Hampshire in 2023.
According to court documents, between March and May 2022, Spofford allegedly devised a plan to harass the journalist who wrote the article as well as their family members and a senior editor at NHPR. The alleged scheme included vandalizing homes with rocks and spray-painting threatening messages.
Spofford is accused of hiring Eric Labarge to execute this plan. It is claimed that he provided Labarge with addresses and instructions on how to intimidate the victims while paying him $20,000 in cash. Labarge reportedly enlisted Tucker Cockerline, Keenan Saniatan, and Michael Waselchuck for assistance.
Labarge and his associates have already faced charges related to this harassment campaign. Labarge received a sentence of 46 months in prison in November 2024; Cockerline was sentenced to 27 months in August 2024; Saniatan received a sentence of 30 months in December 2024; Waselchuck was sentenced to 21 months in September 2024.
Each charge against Spofford carries a potential sentence of up to five years imprisonment along with three years of supervised release and fines up to $250,000. Sentencing will be determined based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines by a federal district court judge.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Kimberly Milka from the FBI's Boston Division. They acknowledged assistance from various police departments across New Hampshire and Massachusetts as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason A. Casey and Torey B. Cummings are prosecuting the case.
The indictment's details are allegations at this stage; Spofford remains presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
