Marcel Pierre Denis, a 58-year-old licensed attorney and former administrative hearing officer in New York, has pleaded guilty to two counts of attempting to illegally export firearms from Miami to Haiti, federal prosecutors announced.
Denis entered his guilty plea on April 18 before U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez, admitting to two separate attempts to smuggle firearms in April and October 2022. In both cases, weapons were discovered hidden in cargo boxes destined for Haiti and listed under Denis’s name.
According to court records, the first incident occurred in April 2022 when law enforcement officers at a Miami-Dade County shipping warehouse found an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle, a magazine, and ammunition concealed in a cargo box. The shipment, which lacked the necessary export documentation, was flagged after warehouse employees identified Denis as the sender and a frequent customer.
In a May 2022 interview, Denis admitted to the unauthorized shipment. But just months later, in October 2022, law enforcement intercepted another shipment from Denis that contained a semiautomatic pistol wrapped in duct tape and hidden inside a coffee container. Investigators traced the purchase of the pistol back to Denis, who later admitted he intended to send the firearm to an associate in Haiti to protect a retail business.
During a November 2022 interview, Denis acknowledged his previous run-in with law enforcement and confirmed he was fully aware that an export license was required to legally ship firearms or ammunition abroad.
Despite his legal background, Denis made the shipments without the proper permits, violating federal export laws. He now faces up to 10 years in prison for each count. Sentencing is scheduled for July 7, 2025.
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami, with support from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sterling M. Paulson is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a nationwide initiative aimed at reducing violent crime and gun-related offenses through coordinated efforts between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
