Florida financier sentenced to 20 years for using COVID-19 relief funds to finance assassination of Haitian president

United States. A U.S. federal judge sentenced Keegan Harricharan, a 42-year-old financier from Florida, to 20 years in prison this Thursday for fraudulently using federal funds intended to alleviate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to finance the conspiracy that culminated in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.

According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Harricharan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering related to loans obtained under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The sentence was issued by the Southern District Court of Florida, which determined that the defendant and his accomplices fraudulently obtained more than $840,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created to assist businesses affected by the pandemic.

According to the investigation, the money was used to promote, finance, and support the conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the Government of Haiti, an operation that ended with the assassination of then-president Jovenel Moïse, which occurred on July 7, 2021, at his private residence in Port-au-Prince.

U.S. authorities noted that the case represents one of the most serious examples of fraud related to pandemic relief programs, as public funds were diverted to support an international criminal operation.

The Department of Justice reiterated that it will continue to prosecute those responsible for the misuse of federal funds and those who participated in the planning and financing of the assassination that shocked Haiti and the international community.