Florida man sentenced after using COVID loans to finance assassination of Haitian president

Shira Moolten, South Florida Sun Sentinel on Jul 23, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Coral Springs man was supposed to use COVID relief loans he and his co-conspirators obtained from the U.S. government to cover business expenses such as payroll and rent.

Instead, they put the money toward helping finance the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

Keegan Harricharan, 42, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison last week after pleading guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering as part of an agreement with prosecutors, court records show. Prosecutors announced the sentencing in a news release Thursday.

Harricharan worked directly with multiple co-conspirators, including the four men who were convicted in May of conspiracy in the 2021 assassination, which thrust the Caribbean nation into chaos and upheaval. He also worked closely with Jacob Israel, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering and is set to be sentenced in December.

Harricharan “purported” to be a real estate financier and developer, according to a factual proffer filed in federal court records. He and multiple co-conspirators received Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the U.S. government, which were supposed to help cover payroll, sick leave, rent and mortgage payments during the pandemic. Instead, Harricharan and others laundered the money and used it to further the same loan scheme as well as to “promote, plan, organize, direct, fund, and solicit funding and support for the overthrow” of Moïse and the installation of a new Haitian government.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when about two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, attacked his home near Port-au-Prince.

In the months leading up to the coup, Harricharan attended multiple meetings in which he, the four men, and other co-conspirators discussed purchasing weapons and ammunition among other plans, according to the court document.

Meanwhile, multiple named and unnamed co-conspirators applied for and received PPP loans through their various companies using fraudulent information, according to the document. Harricharan used his bank account to receive and disburse the loan money, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, which went toward funding the assassination.

On the morning of the assassination, 22 Colombian mercenaries and other co-conspirators arrived at Moïse’s home, entered his bedroom and shot him to death. That same morning, one of the unnamed co-conspirators sent Harricharan a text message saying, “been an eventful morning,” according to the document.

“It’s happening,” Harricharan replied.

________