NH Feds Nail Pembroke Man Who Bought Golf Course With COVID Cash

Michael Kirouac, 38, of Pembroke, New Hampshire, is headed to federal prison after turning pandemic relief money into a golf course deal. On Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, he was sentenced to 15 months behind bars and one year of supervised release for wire fraud after prosecutors said he misused more than $1 million in pandemic relief loans. A big chunk of that cash, according to investigators, helped pay for the Angus Lea Golf Course in Hillsborough.

Prosecutors outline the scheme

Federal prosecutors say Kirouac applied for Economic Injury Disaster Loans, or EIDLs, on behalf of four companies he owned or controlled and certified that the money would go only toward working capital and everyday business costs like payroll and rent. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Hampshire, roughly $600,000 from EIDLs tied to two of those businesses was diverted to help buy the Angus Lea Golf Course instead. Prosecutors say more loan funds meant for other locations were also steered away from legitimate operating expenses.

"The defendant stole over a million dollars from taxpayers amidst one of the worst health and economic crises in a century," U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said in a statement, framing the case as a straight-up theft of relief money from public coffers.

How the loans were spent

According to The Boston Globe, Kirouac used EIDL proceeds that were supposed to cover payroll and rent to instead help finance the Angus Lea purchase and to pay for other nonbusiness expenses. The Globe also reports that he secured a $260,500 EIDL for HK Hudson after he had already agreed to sell that company and did not disclose the pending sale to the Small Business Administration when he applied.

Who investigated

The case drew a swarm of federal investigators. The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the SBA Office of Inspector General led the probe, with backup from the Justice Department's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, according to IRS Criminal Investigation. Together, they traced loan applications and money transfers to map out which EIDL funds were pulled away from payroll and other legitimate operating costs and funneled toward the golf course deal.

Legal context

Kirouac pleaded guilty on Oct. 3, 2025, to one count of wire fraud. Under federal law, wire fraud on paper can carry a sentence stretching into decades and steep fines, although judges rely on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines to set the actual punishment. As noted in a prior release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, those guidelines weigh factors like the total loss amount when calculating a recommended sentence.

In Kirouac's case, the court landed on 15 months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release, reflecting both the size of the fraud and his guilty plea.

Local impact and next steps

Local coverage notes that investigators are urging residents to speak up if they know about suspected pandemic-relief fraud, and they continue to direct people to federal channels set up to collect those tips. As NBC Boston observed, the Kirouac case is one more reminder that prosecutions tied to CARES Act programs are still rolling out well after the peak of the COVID crisis, and that federal agencies are not done chasing down misused relief dollars.