South Florida man jailed for Haiti assassination funding scheme

A South Florida fundraiser and financier linked to the conspiracy that led to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief funds used to support the plot.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra handed down the sentence for Keegan Harricharan, 42, of Coral Springs, after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Prosecutors said the funds came from fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) applications issued under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“This case is a stark reminder that financial crime is often the engine behind far more dangerous conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.

“This defendant did not simply commit fraud. He exploited pandemic relief programs meant to keep small businesses alive during a national crisis and laundered those stolen taxpayer funds to help advance a conspiracy that ended in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.”

According to court documents, Harricharan worked with Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, James Junior Solages, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, Jacob Israel, and others to move fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds that were used to support a conspiracy to remove Moïse from power and establish a new Haitian government.

Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021, at his private residence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Prosecutors said Harricharan and Israel began fraudulently obtaining PPP loan proceeds in June 2020, securing approximately $840,827. Of that amount, Israel and his associates received about $126,124 in kickbacks.

In April and May 2021, Harricharan met multiple times in South Florida with members of the assassination conspiracy, where they discussed plans to remove Moïse, as well as obtaining funding, weapons, ammunition, personnel and military equipment for the operation.

Harricharan agreed to use his South Florida company, TNR Holding Group Inc., to receive and distribute proceeds from the fraud scheme.

Between May 18 and May 28, 2021, about $175,000 in PPP fraud proceeds and other funds were deposited into TNR Holding’s bank account. Prosecutors said Harricharan then transferred the money to Veintemilla, who distributed it through additional transactions to other members of the conspiracy.

On June 9 and June 10, 2021, Harricharan wired another $80,000, including EIDL loan proceeds, to Veintemilla for distribution among conspirators.

Weeks later, the plot culminated in Moïse’s assassination. Prosecutors said a team of Colombian mercenaries, financed in part through the laundered funds, entered the president’s residence after a gun battle with security personnel. Moïse was killed, while First Lady Martine Moïse was seriously injured.

“The threat extends beyond financial loss to the stability of democratic institutions themselves,” Reding Quiñones said. “We will continue to follow the money, dismantle these networks, and ensure that those who finance violence face federal justice.”

Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla and Solages were convicted following a nine-week jury trial in May. Sanon is expected to stand trial later this year, while Israel previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

The case was investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami. The announcement was made by Reding Quiñones, FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles and HSI Miami Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa.