Former Haitian Mayor and Human Rights Violator Sentenced in Massachusetts to Nine Years in Prison for Lying about Past Involvement in Political Violence
BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney announced Jean Morose Viliena, the former mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, was sentenced to nine years in prison followed by three years of supervised release by Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV for the District of Massachusetts. Viliena was sentenced for possessing and using a Permanent Resident Card, also known as a Green Card, that 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 federal jury convicted Viliena in March 2025 of three counts of visa fraud. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provided valuable assistance to the investigation.
Viliena, 53, was the mayor of Les Irois, Haiti, from December 2006 until February 2010. As a candidate and as mayor, Viliena was backed by Korega, a political machine that used armed violence to exert power throughout the southwestern region of Haiti. He 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.
According to evidence presented at trial, as mayor, Viliena was involved in several instances of violence, including the shooting and killing of a witness’ younger bother, pistol whipping an individual during an attack, ordering an associate to shoot and kill that individual when attempting to flee, and the shooting of a second individual also attempting to flee.
On his application for a U.S. visa, Viliena falsely responded that he was not a member of any class of individuals that are 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.” Based on his false representations, the State Department approved his application, he gained entry into the United States, and he was thereafter granted a Green Card in the United States. 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 U.S. citizen by birth.
This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations’ Boston Field office, with coordination provided by the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center. Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura J. Kaplan for the District of Massachusetts prosecuted the case, with assistance from HRSP Historian/Analyst Dr. Christopher Hayden.
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