Overview

• He was convicted in March of three counts of visa fraud for falsely denying on his 2008 application that he ordered or assisted in extrajudicial killings and other acts of violence.
• On June 20, U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV imposed a nine-year prison term followed by three years of supervised release.
• Testimony showed that as mayor of Les Irois from 2006 to 2010 he led armed attacks that resulted in killings, beatings and permanent injuries to political opponents and journalists.
• In 2023, a civil jury held him liable under the Torture Victim Protection Act and awarded victims $15.5 million in damages for his role in political persecutions.
• Viliena continues to maintain his innocence and is appealing both his criminal conviction and the $15.5 million civil judgment.