A Florida resident who smuggled firearms to a violent Haitian gang that kidnapped Americans – the 400 Mawozo criminal organization – has been sentenced to prison.
31-year-old Jocelyn Dor, a Haitian citizen who resided in Orlando, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for participating in a sophisticated smuggling scheme that exported or attempted to export at least 24 firearms from the United States to Haiti, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The announcement was recently made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates ordered Dor to serve three years of supervised release. Dor pleaded guilty Oct. 30, 2023, to conspiracy to violate the Export Control Reform Act, violating the Export Control Reform Act, and laundering money with the purpose of promoting a specified unlawful activity.
Dor originally was charged in a May 2022 indictment that named co-defendants 31-year-old Joly Germine, also known as “Yonyon,” a Haitian national and 45-year-old Eliande Tunis, a U.S. citizen, of Pompano Beach, Florida.
According to government documents, 400 Mawozo is a notoriously violent Haitian gang and criminal organization that operated in the Croix-des-Bouquets area to the east of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. From Jan. 12, 2020, 400 Mawozo was engaged in armed kidnappings of U.S. citizens in Haiti for ransom.
Germine served as the “King” of 400 Mawozo and directed operations from a Haitian prison using unmonitored cell phones. Now in U.S. custody, Germine pleaded guilty on January 31, 2024, to his role in the gunrunning conspiracy that smuggled firearms to Haiti in violation of U.S. export laws, and the laundering of ransoms paid for U.S. hostages to the gang in 2021. Germine faces life in prison when he is sentenced May 15, 2024. Co-defendant and Germine’s former girlfriend Tunis pleaded guilty on the eve of trial on January 17, 2024. Tunis, who styled herself as the “Queen” of 400 Mawozo, also faces up to life in prison when she is sentenced on May 8, 2024.
Dor operated as a straw purchaser for 400 Mawozo. Between September 18, 2021 and October 17, 2021, he purchased 10 semiautomatic high-power rifles at gun shops in the Orlando area at Germine’s direction for the express purpose of shipping the weapons to 400 Mawozo gang leaders in Haiti.
The rifles were intended for combat. One of the weapons, a Barrett .50 caliber rifle, is primarily used by militaries against equipment. Dor falsely stated to the gun vendors that he was the “actual buyer” of the firearms. He also received multiple transfers of thousands of U.S. dollars from his co-conspirators to pay for them.
The FBI attempted to arrest Dor on October 31, 2021, but was unable to find either Dor or the high-powered rifles. Dor stopped using his cell phones, showing that he was aware that law enforcement was looking for him. The search expanded to the Midwest where Dor was nearly captured at a trucker rest stop. On November 5, 2021, Dor rented a storage unit in Orlando. On November 8, 2021, Dor had his attorney contact the FBI to turn himself in. The FBI arrested Dor that day and recovered the guns at the Orlando storage unit. He has remained in custody since his arrest.
In October 2021, the 400 Mawozo gang claimed responsibility for kidnapping 16 U.S. citizens, including five children, and one Canadian citizen who were part of a missionary organization visiting an orphanage in Port au Prince. The gang demanded a ransom of $l million for each hostage. The hostages escaped on or about December 16, 2021. Earlier that year in June, the gang took two U.S. citizens hostage and released them only after receiving $25,000 ransom. In August, the gang took another U.S. citizen hostage and released her after receiving $50,000.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Miami Field Office with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Haitian National Police, the government of Haiti, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Special Prosecutions Section.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Kimberly Paschall and Paralegal Specialist Jorge Casillas of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes of the Counterintelligence and Export Control Section of the National Security Division.
