A man from Pembroke, New Hampshire, was sentenced in federal court for fraudulently obtaining over $1 million in CARES Act funds and using the money to purchase a golf course, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan.
Michael Kirouac, 38, received a sentence of 15 months in prison and one year of supervised release from U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante. He pleaded guilty on October 3, 2025, to one count of wire fraud.
“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 Creegan. “This office will continue to vigilantly investigate and prosecute those who defraud pandemic relief programs.”
Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office stated: “The defendant misappropriated critical funds intended for legitimate businesses harmed by the COVID-19 pandemic. This sentencing underscores the VA OIG’s commitment to safeguarding taxpayer funds and protecting the integrity of government assistance programs.”
Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge at IRS Criminal Investigation’s Boston Field Office added: “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. Kirouac defrauded a federal program designed to help those most in need 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 CARES Act was enacted during the early phase of the coronavirus pandemic as Congress sought to assist Americans and small businesses facing hardship. It created several relief programs including Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that were supposed to be used for payroll or other approved business expenses such as rent or mortgage payments.
Kirouac owned or controlled four companies: HK Manchester, HK Loudon, HK Hudson, and HK Pelham. He applied for more than $1 million worth of EIDLs on behalf of these entities and certified that he would use loan proceeds solely as working capital—not for personal use or relocating businesses.
In 2021, after failing to secure financing from banks or private lenders for his effort to buy a golf course, Kirouac obtained EIDLs through two companies—HK Manchester and HK Loudon—and used about $600,000 meant for those firms’ operations toward purchasing Angus Lea Golf Course in Hillsborough, New Hampshire. He also misused EIDL funds obtained through HK Pelham.
Separately, Kirouac secured a $260,500 EIDL for HK Hudson even though he had already agreed to sell that company prior to signing for the loan—a fact not disclosed to the Small Business Administration.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Office of Inspector General; IRS Criminal Investigations; SBA’s Office of Inspector General; and support from the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander S. Chen prosecuted this case.
Reports about attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can be made via phone at 866-720-5721 or through an online complaint form provided by the Department of Justice's National Center for Disaster Fraud at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
