A former Springfield golf course manager who was indicted last month on charges of stealing money from municipal courses and using the funds to build houses has been indicted on another charge of making false statements to a bank to conceal a cash down payment.
Kevin M. Kennedy, 41, of East Longmeadow, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Springfield on Jan. 9 on one count of making a false statement to a federally insured financial institution, according to a statement from the U.S attorney’s office. Homebuilder Kent S. Pecoy, 62, of Wilbraham, was indicted on the same charge.
According to the superseding indictment, Kennedy and Pecoy made false statements to Charles Schwab Bank on Jan. 19, 2010, on a loan to Kennedy and his wife for the construction of a residence in East Longmeadow. They allegedly were attempting to conceal a $160,000 cash down payment. The false statements included understating the sale price of the residence lot, the price of the construction, and the deposit and earnest money paid by Kennedy.
The charge of making a false statement provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million.
Kennedy on Dec. 19 was indicted on multiple charges related to his work managing Springfield’s two public golf courses, Franconia Golf Course and Veterans Memorial Golf Course. As owner and operator of Kennedy Golf Management Inc., Kennedy collected greens fees and golf cart rental fees on behalf of the city. The initial indictment alleged that Kennedy from 2010 through 2016 embezzled fees that were owed to the city by stealing cash directly from the city’s cash register and by diverting payments to KGM terminals.
Prosecutors claim Kennedy attempted to conceal the scheme by providing fraudulent records to the city that underreported the golf courses’ daily activity and revenues. Kennedy allegedly used the stolen funds for personal expenditures, including building homes in East Longmeadow and West Dennis, and failed to report the income on his 2010 through 2014 tax returns.
The December indictment also charged Kent Pecoy and his son, Jason Pecoy, 39, of Wilbraham, with conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Kennedy paid the Pecoys in cash for construction of his homes in East Longmeadow and West Dennis, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Pecoys failed to deposit most of the cash into business bank accounts, according to the indictment, instead distributing the cash directly to vendors and subcontractors.
When they did deposit the cash, the Pecoys allegedly deposited funds in amounts less than $10,000 to avoid filing currency transaction reports. The indictment further alleges that the Pecoys created and maintained separate ledgers documenting Kennedy’s cash payments, created and maintained false contracts and cover sheets, and created false entries in KPSC’s accounting system to conceal the cash payments.
