Federal prosecutors announced the sentencing of two leaders of a notorious Haitian gang that kidnapped Americans, laundered the ransom payments and used the funds to illegally export weapons from the United States to Haiti.
Jolie Germin, 31, from Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, known as the “king” of a 400-member Mawozo gang, will spend 35 years in prison. statement This was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.
Eliande Tunis, 46, of Pompano Beach, Florida, who described herself as Jarmin's wife and was referred to in court as the “queen” of 400 Mawozo, was sentenced June 5 to 150 months in prison, according to the statement.
Two other co-defendants, Jocelyn Dorr, 31, and Walder St. Louis, 35, both of Florida, pleaded guilty to purchasing imitation guns for Jermyn and Tunis and were sentenced to 60 and 36 months, respectively, according to the statement.
Jarmin and Tunis pleaded guilty to a 48-count second indictment, which charged them with “violating U.S. export control laws, conspiring to defraud the United States, violating export control laws, smuggling, and laundering the proceeds of ransoms paid to secure the release of U.S. hostages held by a gang, and [their] “This is a crime,” the prosecutor said.
Vicious Haitian gang 'king' sentenced to 35 years in prison for gun smuggling and money laundering
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Prosecutors alleged in court that Jarmin, Tunis, Dole and St. Louis conspired with each other and 400 other associates of the Mawozo gang to illegally export guns from the United States to gangs in Haiti between March and November 2021. Jarmin reportedly directed the operation while in a Haitian prison, including using an unmonitored phone to send money transfer instructions and weapons specifications. Tunis, Dole and St. Louis then purchased at least 24 rifles, handguns and shotguns on Jarmin's behalf at a Florida gun store, posing as the actual buyers, prosecutors said.
Tunis smuggled the weapons into Haiti in containers disguised as food and household goods in May 2021. He also attempted to send more weapons in October 2021, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intercepted and seized the shipment, prosecutors said.
400 Mawozo began holding US citizens hostage around January 12, 2020. The gang received ransom payments for three US citizens held hostage in the summer of 2021, mixed them with gang funds and sent them to the US via MoneyGram and Western Union to purchase more weapons, the court heard. (Related article: Gang abducts YourFellowArab after attempting interview for 'BBQ': Report)
The group also claimed responsibility for kidnapping 16 Americans and one Canadian, including five children, in the fall of 2021. The group demanded $1 million for each hostage. Prosecutors said the victims were part of a missionary group that had been visiting orphanages in Port-au-Prince and had escaped or been released by December 2021.
Jarmin, also known as “Yeonyeon,” is reportedly facing separate charges related to the kidnapping.
“The Haitian gang leaders who terrorize the American people [sic] “The Department of Justice will use all its resources to oppose those seeking to facilitate their criminal conduct,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
