Haitian ex-Mayor Found Guilty in U.S. Civil Suit, Required to Pay $15.5 Million in Damages

The jury found Jean Morose Viliena, a former Haitian mayor, guilty in the U.S. District Court in Boston on March 21^st and ordered him to pay $15.5 million in damages.  Viliena was charged under the Torture Victim Protection Act  (TVPA) of 1991 by three Haitian men who they or their families have been victims of.  The following day, Viliena was sent back to court where a grand jury found him guilty on three-counts of visa fraud for allegedly lying about his previous violence charges to get a green card.[1]