A Massachusetts man is on course for prison after being convicted of tax conspiracy and making a false statement. Kevin M. Kennedy, who once managed two municipal golf courses in Western Massachusetts, was found guilty by a federal jury in Springfield, as reported by the Justice Department yesterday.
Kennedy, 45, of East Longmeadow, got caught in the rough after the jury nailed him on Dec. 11 for scheming against the United States and fibbing a bank. However, he managed to dodge additional charges, including embezzlement, wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful monetary transactions. According to a statement by Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy obtained by the Justice Department, "This guilty verdict underscores the serious consequences for those who conspire to defraud the United States. No one is above the law, and we will vigorously pursue those who engage in illicit schemes to line their own pockets."
The case revealed that Kennedy, through his company Kennedy Golf Management Inc., controlled Springfield's Franconia Golf Course and Veterans Memorial Golf Course. Court evidence showed Kennedy's financial play of evading taxes, where he paid for two custom homes partly in cash, went far out of bounds. To secure a mortgage, he cunningly submitted a forged home purchase contract to the bank with a price tag deflated by his $160,000 cash downpayment.
Harry Chavis Jr., the Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, told the Justice Department, "The jury found that Kevin Kennedy defrauded the United States for the sole purpose of enriching himself. This type of fraud has consequences for every American taxpayer." Kennedy's conviction plants him firmly as a convicted felon, with a sentence hanging over his head like a dark cloud on a clear fairway. He is slated to be sentenced on March 1, 2024.
The tangled legal web Kevin Kennedy finds himself in could land him a sentence of up to five years behind bars for the conspiracy charge, and a mind-blowing 30 years for making a false statement. In addition to possible prison time, the former golf course manager faces fines that could total over a million dollars. Despite the severity of his situation, it should be noted that the remaining defendants in the case are viewed as having a clean scorecard until proven guilty, as per standard legal procedure.
