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Jean Morose Viliena, 50, was charged on Wednesday, March 22, with three counts of visa fraud, the US Attorney for Massachusetts said.
Viliena served as mayor of Les Irois from 2006 until 2010 and is accused of using violence to exert his political will, the prosecutor said.
A court in Boston ruled against Viliena on Tuesday in a federal civil rights lawsuit that claimed Viliena had murdered a rival in 2007 and attacked and injured several others, reports said. The jury ruled that Viliena must pay $15.5 million in damages to the families of his victims.
Though, the ruling has no criminal implications.
US Attorney Rachael S. Rollins said Viliena hid his alleged violent past and misrepresented himself to immigration officials to get a Permanent Resident Card.
“The atrocities alleged here – the extrajudicial torture, murder, and attempted murder of multiple people – are hard to comprehend. But the political corruption and violence endured in other parts of the world are very real," Rollins said in a news release. "Immigrants seeking asylum in the United States are often fleeing war, persecution, or natural disaster. ... Our nation offers protection, assistance, and asylum to those who are persecuted. People that perpetrate acts of violence and harm in their countries — and then allegedly lie about their conduct to US immigration officials — are not welcome here.”
In 2007, Viliena allegedly led a group of armed men to the house of a man who had testified against him for assaulting a neighbor, officials said. The thugs reportedly shot and killed the man's younger brother before beating him in the head with a rock in front of a crowd of onlookers.
A year later, Viliena is accused of leading several armed men to forcibly shut down a radio station started by activists and journalists. He allegedly pistol-whipped a man and punched him in the face before having someone shoot him, the prosecutor said. The man survived but had to have his leg amputated above the knee.
Another person was shot in the face and blinded in one eye for their ties to the radio station, officials said.
Viliena applied to come to the United States in 2008. As part of the asylum paperwork, applicants must affirm they have not “ordered, carried out or materially assisted in extrajudicial and political killings and other acts of violence against the Haitian people."
Viliena told immigration officials that he had not, authorities said. He was allowed to come to the United States in July 2008.
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