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Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Former mayor from Haiti sentenced to nine years for visa fraud
During Friday's sentencing, Viliena's attorney, Jason Benzaken, maintained his client's innocence and asked for leniency because it was his first criminal conviction. Benzaken did not respond to a request for comment Friday night. Until his arrest two years ago, Viliena had Advertisement '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.' Viliena was also Advertisement Viliena served as mayor of Les Irois from December 2006 until at least February 2010, Foley's office said. Prosecutors detailed a pattern of violence and intimidation linked to his time in office during the two-week trial that led to his conviction. Both during his campaign and tenure, Viliena committed numerous violent acts backed by Korega, a hardline political faction notorious for attacking journalists, activists, and opponents, the statement said. In 2007, Viliena allegedly led a mob targeting David Boniface, a witness who testified against him. When they found only Boniface's younger brother, Eclesiaste, at home, Viliena and his men shot and killed him. One attacker 'smashed his skull with a large rock before a crowd of bystanders,' the statement said. In 2008, when local activists and journalists launched a community radio station, Viliena and his allies forcibly shut it down. He armed Korega members—some carrying machetes and picks—and personally led the attack, according to the statement. Viliena pistol-whipped and punched one victim, Nissage Martyr, and when Martyr tried to flee, ordered an associate to shoot him. Martyr was hit in the leg and later had it amputated above the knee. Another victim, Juders Ysemé, was shot in the face and left permanently blind in one eye, according to Foley's office. In 2009, as Haitian investigators probed these actions, Viliena fled to Malden on a legal visa. After being indicted in Haiti in 2010, he skipped trial, and no in absentia proceedings occurred, according to a Advertisement Boniface, Martyr, and Ysemé filed the civil suit in 2017 under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows victims to seek justice in U.S. courts when denied in their home countries, Foley's office said. Both Boniface and Ysemé testified at Viliena's criminal trial as well. Boniface broke down on the stand when shown a photo of his brother's bloodied body. 'This is the picture of my brother who Jean Morose and his group assassinated,' he said, speaking in Haitian Creole, the Globe On Friday, Viliena's attorney argued for a lighter sentence for his client. 'Mr. Viliena has never been convicted of a crime and therefore this is his first incarceration,' said Benzaken. 'It has been a jarring and destabilizing experience for him, and 33 months of imprisonment is significantly impactful to him.' The court rejected those arguments. In addition to the nine-year prison term, Viliena was sentenced to three years of supervised release and faces deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence, according to Foley's office. Rita Chandler can be reached at
The Star
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Star
Haitian ex-mayor gets nine years in US prison for visa fraud tied to political violence
A poster used as an exhibit in court during former Haitian mayor Jean Morose Viliena's trial is seen in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on March 28, 2025. U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo BOSTON (Reuters) -A former Haitian mayor was sentenced on Friday to nine years in a U.S. prison after being convicted of illegally obtaining a green card allowing him to reside in the United States by concealing his role in a brutal campaign to kill and torture his political opponents. Jean Morose Viliena, 53, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston after a jury in March found him guilty of committing what prosecutors in court papers said was "the most egregious type of immigration fraud." They had urged Saylor to sentence him to 10 years in prison, saying a lengthy sentence would "provide justice to the survivors and families of the victims who continue to suffer the effects of the defendant's persecution and concealment." Prosecutors charged Viliena with visa fraud a day after a jury in a civil case in 2023 ordered the former mayor of the rural Haitian town of Les Irois to pay $15.5 million to three Haitians who accused him of persecuting them or their families. Viliena, who at the time of his indictment was working as a truck driver and living in Malden, Massachusetts, has maintained his innocence throughout the litigation. He is appealing the civil verdict and can appeal his conviction as well. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors said that in applying for a visa in 2008, Viliena affirmed on a form that he had not "ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people." In fact, Viliena, after being elected to a four-year term as mayor of Les Irois in December 2006, personally committed or ordered the maiming, harm, humiliation or death of his adversaries, prosecutors alleged. They said the victims include the three Haitians who pursued the earlier lawsuit, David Boniface, Juders Yseme and Nissage Martyr. That case was filed in 2017 under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows for U.S. lawsuits against foreign officials accused of extrajudicial killings or torture when avenues for redress in their home countries are exhausted. Prosecutors said Viliena in 2007 led a group of armed men to Boniface's home who then beat and fatally shot his brother, and later mobilized a group in 2008 that beat and shot Martyr and Yseme at a community radio station. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
Straits Times
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Haitian ex-mayor gets nine years in US prison for visa fraud tied to political violence
A poster used as an exhibit in court during former Haitian mayor Jean Morose Viliena's trial is seen in this undated handout image obtained by Reuters on March 28, 2025. U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo Haitian ex-mayor gets nine years in US prison for visa fraud tied to political violence BOSTON - A former Haitian mayor was sentenced on Friday to nine years in a U.S. prison after being convicted of illegally obtaining a green card allowing him to reside in the United States by concealing his role in a brutal campaign to kill and torture his political opponents. Jean Morose Viliena, 53, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor in Boston after a jury in March found him guilty of committing what prosecutors in court papers said was "the most egregious type of immigration fraud." They had urged Saylor to sentence him to 10 years in prison, saying a lengthy sentence would "provide justice to the survivors and families of the victims who continue to suffer the effects of the defendant's persecution and concealment." Prosecutors charged Viliena with visa fraud a day after a jury in a civil case in 2023 ordered the former mayor of the rural Haitian town of Les Irois to pay $15.5 million to three Haitians who accused him of persecuting them or their families. Viliena, who at the time of his indictment was working as a truck driver and living in Malden, Massachusetts, has maintained his innocence throughout the litigation. He is appealing the civil verdict and can appeal his conviction as well. His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. Prosecutors said that in applying for a visa in 2008, Viliena affirmed on a form that he had not "ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people." In fact, Viliena, after being elected to a four-year term as mayor of Les Irois in December 2006, personally committed or ordered the maiming, harm, humiliation or death of his adversaries, prosecutors alleged. They said the victims include the three Haitians who pursued the earlier lawsuit, David Boniface, Juders Yseme and Nissage Martyr. That case was filed in 2017 under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows for U.S. lawsuits against foreign officials accused of extrajudicial killings or torture when avenues for redress in their home countries are exhausted. Prosecutors said Viliena in 2007 led a group of armed men to Boniface's home who then beat and fatally shot his brother, and later mobilized a group in 2008 that beat and shot Martyr and Yseme at a community radio station. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Haitian ex-mayor guilty of US visa fraud linked to torture
By Nate Raymond BOSTON (Reuters) - A former Haitian mayor was convicted on Friday of U.S. charges that he had lied about having led a brutal campaign to kill and torture his political opponents in order to secure a green card allowing him to reside in the United States. Jean Morose Viliena, now a lawful permanent U.S. resident who at the time of his indictment in 2023 was working as a truck driver and living in Malden, Massachusetts, was found guilty by a federal jury in Boston of three counts of visa fraud. Prosecutors announced those charges a day after a different jury in a civil case ordered the former mayor of the rural Haitian town of Les Irois to pay $15.5 million to three Haitians who accused him of persecuting them or their families. Viliena, 52, is appealing that earlier verdict and has argued he is innocent. Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor scheduled sentencing for June 20. Viliena's attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Both the criminal and civil case shed a light on the widespread violence that has plagued Haiti. Prosecutors said that in applying for a visa in 2008, Viliena had affirmed on a form that he had not "ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people." In fact, Viliena, after being elected to a four-year term as mayor of Les Irois in December 2006, personally committed or ordered the maiming, harm, humiliation or death of his adversaries, prosecutors alleged. They said the victims include the three Haitians who pursued the earlier lawsuit, David Boniface, Juders Yseme and Nissage Martyr. That case was filed in 2017 under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows for U.S. lawsuits against foreign officials accused of extrajudicial killings or torture when avenues for redress in their home countries are exhausted. Prosecutors said Viliena in 2007 led a group of armed men to Boniface's home who then beat and fatally shot his brother, and later mobilized a group in 2008 that beat and shot Martyr and Yseme at a community radio station.
Reuters
28-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Haitian ex-mayor guilty of US visa fraud linked to torture
BOSTON, March 28 (Reuters) - A former Haitian mayor was convicted on Friday of U.S. charges that he had lied about having led a brutal campaign to kill and torture his political opponents in order to secure a green card allowing him to reside in the United States. Jean Morose Viliena, now a lawful permanent U.S. resident who at the time of his indictment in 2023 was working as a truck driver and living in Malden, Massachusetts, was found guilty by a federal jury in Boston of three counts of visa fraud. Prosecutors announced those charges a day after a different jury in a civil case ordered the former mayor of the rural Haitian town of Les Irois to pay $15.5 million to three Haitians who accused him of persecuting them or their families. Viliena, 52, is appealing that earlier verdict and has argued he is innocent. Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor scheduled sentencing for June 20. Viliena's attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Both the criminal and civil case shed a light on the widespread violence that has plagued Haiti. Prosecutors said that in applying for a visa in 2008, Viliena had affirmed on a form that he had not "ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people." In fact, Viliena, after being elected to a four-year term as mayor of Les Irois in December 2006, personally committed or ordered the maiming, harm, humiliation or death of his adversaries, prosecutors alleged. They said the victims include the three Haitians who pursued the earlier lawsuit, David Boniface, Juders Yseme and Nissage Martyr. That case was filed in 2017 under the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows for U.S. lawsuits against foreign officials accused of extrajudicial killings or torture when avenues for redress in their home countries are exhausted. Prosecutors said Viliena in 2007 led a group of armed men to Boniface's home who then beat and fatally shot his brother, and later mobilized a group in 2008 that beat and shot Martyr and Yseme at a community radio station.
