The journalists, who worked at New Hampshire Public Radio, had investigated claims of sexual misconduct against him.
A federal grand jury indicted a former New Hampshire businessman this week on charges that he orchestrated attacks on the homes of journalists who had investigated claims of sexual misconduct against him.
The grand jury in Boston indicted the businessman, Eric Spofford, on four stalking-related charges after prosecutors said he had paid an associate $10,000 to vandalize the homes of a reporter and an editor at New Hampshire Public Radio, as well as the home of the reporter’s parents.
A lawyer for Mr. Spofford declined to comment.
Mr. Spofford owned one of the largest networks of drug-rehabilitation centers in New England until he sold the business for what he said was $115 million in 2021. The next year, New Hampshire Public Radio aired a report that quoted former patients and staff members saying he had engaged in sexual misconduct.
Mr. Spofford denied the allegations and threatened to sue New Hampshire Public Radio and Lauren Chooljian, the reporter who led the investigation. (His subsequent defamation lawsuit was dismissed in 2023.)
After a lawyer for New Hampshire Public Radio rebuffed Mr. Spofford’s demands for a retraction in the spring of 2022, men vandalized homes belonging to Ms. Chooljian, her editor and her parents, as well as a house where Ms. Chooljian previously lived. They smashed the homes’ windows with rocks and bricks. One of the vandals spray-painted “Just the beginning!” on an outside wall of Ms. Chooljian’s home near Boston.
The vandalism was part of a growing trend of physical attacks against journalists in the United States.
At the time, Mr. Spofford, who has said he overcame drug addiction and a history of violence, denied any involvement in or knowledge of the attacks.
Federal prosecutors later charged four men — at least one of whom, Eric Labarge, was an associate of Mr. Spofford’s — with organizing or conducting the vandalism. All four pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison.
The grand jury indictment accused Mr. Spofford of having “devised a scheme to harass and terrorize” Ms. Chooljian and the other victims. The indictment said Mr. Spofford had instructed Mr. Labarge to arrange for the homes to be vandalized and paid him $10,000, at least some of which Mr. Labarge used to pay men he enlisted to carry out the vandalism.
After selling his business, Mr. Spofford moved to Miami. He regularly posts videos of his luxurious lifestyle and coaches followers on how to build their personal brands.
Julie Tate contributed research.