Golf Course Boss Kennedy Slammed with Prison Sentence for Tax Fraud

BOSTON – The former operator of two municipal golf courses in Western Massachusetts, Kevin M. Kennedy, 45, of East Longmeadow, was handed a 13-month prison sentence yesterday for conspiring to defraud the United States and making a false statement.

In federal court in Springfield, U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni imposed the term on Kennedy, who also faces three years of supervised release and restitution to be set later. The government sought 21-27 months behind bars, followed by supervision and $351,565 in restitution.

Kennedy was convicted on December 11, 2023, for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution. He was cleared of embezzlement from a local government receiving federal benefits, wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful monetary transactions.

“Stealing from the taxpayers is far from a victimless crime,” Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy commented. “Every honest law-abiding citizen is a victim of this type of embezzlement from the city.”

Kennedy owned Kennedy Golf Management Inc., managing Franconia Golf Course and Veterans Memorial Golf Course for the City of Springfield. He is accused of skimming money from the company without reporting it to the IRS, conspiring with others to evade taxes, and using cash to pay for custom homes. To obtain a mortgage for one home, he submitted a false home purchase contract to the bank.

Before trial, Kennedy pleaded guilty to four counts of filing false individual income tax returns for 2011 through 2014. He did not report all cash and checks received from his golf course operations on those returns.