WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) – The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday said a former Mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, has been sentenced to nine years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Jean Morose Viliena was sentenced on Friday by Chief Judge F Dennis Saylor IV for the District of Massachusetts for “possessing and using a Permanent Resident Card he had fraudulently obtained by falsely stating that he had not ordered, carried out, or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people.”

A US federal jury convicted Viliena in March 2025 of three counts of visa fraud.

“In Haiti, Jean Morose Viliena was involved in the violent killings, beatings, and assaults of whomever he believed threatened his power as mayor,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

“His lies to US immigration authorities allowed him to unlawfully enter this country and obtain lawful permanent resident status,” he added. “Individuals who commit violent crimes in their home countries should take note: we do not tolerate human rights abusers who lie to take refuge here.

“We will find you, investigate you, and prosecute you to ensure that you are held accountable to the maximum extent of US law for your heinous criminal conduct,” Galeotti continued.

US Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts said that “Jean Morose Viliena built a life in the United States by burying the truth about his violent past – a past marked by political persecution, bloodshed and the silencing of dissent in Haiti.

“For more than a decade, he lived freely and comfortably in this country while the victims of his brutality lived in fear, exile and pain,” Foley said. “Today’s sentence brings a measure of justice for the lives he shattered and sends a clear message: the United States will not be a safe haven for human rights abusers.

“Lying to gain entry into this country and then lying again under oath to avoid accountability strikes at the heart of our immigration and legal systems,” he added. “I commend the tremendous courage of the victims and witnesses who stood up and spoke the truth despite the risks and made this outcome possible.”

Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England said Friday’s sentencing “underscores the commitment of Homeland Security Investigations to ensuring that individuals who commit heinous acts of violence and fraud are held accountable, regardless of where those crimes were committed.

“Jean Morose Viliena’s actions were not only a gross violation of human rights but also a betrayal of the trust placed in him by his community,” he said. “HSI will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to bring justice to victims and protect the American people from foreign criminals seeking to escape justice in their home countries.”

The DOJ said Viliena, 53, was the Mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, from December 2006 until February 2010.

As a candidate and as mayor, the DOJ said Viliena was backed by Korega, “a political machine that used armed violence to exert power throughout the southwestern region of Haiti.

“Viliena personally supervised his mayoral staff and other armed supporters aligned with Korega and directed them to engage in armed violence to quash opposition to his authority,” the DOJ said.

According to evidence presented at trial, on July 27, 2007, Viliena “violently retaliated against an activist who had previously spoken at a judicial proceeding on behalf of a neighbor whom Viliena had assaulted.”

“In a brutal act of reprisal, that evening, Viliena led an armed group to the activist’s home, where Viliena and his associates shot and killed the activist’s younger brother and then smashed the brother’s skull with a large rock before a crowd of bystanders,” the DOJ said.

It said Viliena committed another act of violent retribution in April 2008, when he and his associates attacked community members who had founded a radio station that Viliena opposed.

According to multiple witnesses’ testimony, Viliena mobilized armed members of his staff and supporters to forcibly shut down the radio station and seize its broadcasting equipment.

The DOJ said Viliena distributed firearms to his men, some of whom also carried machetes and picks.

According to the evidence presented at trial, during this incident, Viliena beat one man and ordered an associate to shoot him when he tried to flee.

As a result, the man’s leg was later amputated above the knee, the DOJ said.

It said Viliena also beat a student who was at the radio station;” when the student tried to flee, a bullet struck his face, leaving him permanently blind in one eye.”

Less than two months after the radio station attack, the DOJ said “Viliena presented himself at the US Embassy Consular Office in Port au Prince, Haiti, where he applied for a visa to enter the United States.”

The DOJ said the visa application specifically requires an applicant to state whether they are a member of any class of individuals excluded from admission into the United States, including those who have “ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people.”

The DOJ said Viliena falsely responded “no,” indicating that this category did not apply to him.

“Viliena thereafter swore to and affirmed before a US Consular Officer that the contents of the application were true and signed the application,” the DOJ said.

Based on Viliena’s false representations, the DOJ said the United States approved his visa application and permitted him to enter the country.

The DOJ said the United States later granted Viliena lawful permanent resident status and a Permanent Resident Card, also known as a “Green Card.”

“For years, through the use of his fraudulently obtained Green Card, Viliena enjoyed a job; sufficient income; a comfortable home; a safe community; the ability to visit his family in Les Irois at any time; and the privilege of raising and educating a son who is now a US citizen by birth,” the DOJ said.