A Haitian-born fraudster has been stripped of his U.S. citizenship after allegedly defrauding COVID-19 relief programs of millions of dollars and concealing his criminal conduct during the naturalization process.
U.S. District Judge Rodney Smith entered an order revoking the citizenship of Joff Stenn Wroy Philossaint, 25, of Fort Lauderdale, after determining that Philossaint illegally procured his citizenship by making false statements to immigration officials.
Between April 2020 and May 2021, Philossaint fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief funds through companies he owned or controlled and by preparing loan applications for others in exchange for kickbacks.
The applications contained materially false representations about the applicants’ revenues and payroll.
“United States citizenship is one of the greatest privileges our nation can offer, and it must be earned honestly,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This defendant built his path to citizenship on false statements while stealing millions from programs meant to keep small businesses alive during the pandemic. The court’s order revoking his citizenship restores accountability and reinforces a simple principle: if you lie to obtain immigration benefits and commit federal crimes, you will lose what you unlawfully gained.”
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In total, Philossaint and his co-conspirators allegedly prepared and submitted 40 fraudulent loan applications, obtaining about $3.8 million in loan proceeds. Philossaint personally received about $549,000 through the scheme in the form of loan proceeds and kickbacks.
Before allegedly scamming taxpayers, Philossaint applied for U.S. citizenship in February 2020.
During a sworn naturalization interview on Dec. 15, 2020, Philossaint concealed his involvement in the fraud scheme and falsely denied committing crimes or making misrepresentations to obtain public benefits in the U.S.
These false statements allowed Philossaint to obtain U.S. citizenship illegally on Feb. 9, 2021.
On Sept. 8, 2022, Philossaint was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of conspiracy to launder money, and unlawful procurement of citizenship. Philossaint later pleaded guilty to the three conspiracy charges, and a jury found him guilty of illegally obtaining citizenship.
On June 26, 2023, Philossaint was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison.
On Feb. 23, the court granted a motion filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and entered an order revoking Philossaint’s U.S. citizenship.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones; Acting Special Agent in Charge, Jason Xerri, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG), Eastern Region; Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Ronald A. Loecker of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Florida Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami made the announcement.
SBA OIG, Investigations Division’s Eastern Region; USSS Miami; FBI Miami; IRS-CI, Florida Field Office; and HSI Miami investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marc Osborne and Shannon O’Shea Darsch prosecuted the case.
