High-ranking Haitian official wanted on corruption charges being held by ICE in Pickens County

A former ombudsman with the Haitian government is being detained in Alabama as he faces corruption charges in his home country.

According to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainee database, Renan Hédouville is being held in a facility in the Pickens County Detention Center.

Hédouville is accused of embezzling nearly $130,000 of the public’s funds while he led the Office of Citizen Protection from 2017 to 2024, The Haitian Times reported. He is also charged with awarding illegal public contracts, abusing his office and obstructing justice.

An investigation by Haiti’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) found that Hédouville allegedly billed for 10 fake business trips, pocketing the funds he claimed for per diems and plane tickets.

Of the total embezzled, $15,960 allegedly went to Hédouville, $14,500 to his daughter and chief of staff, Régine Hédouville, and $11,800 to his son-in-law and IT coordinator, Tex Willer Célafoi Louis. Several other OCP employees allegedly received more than $28,000 in phony per diem payments, and Hédouville’s wife is also accused of “suspiciously” withdrawing $23,370 from their bank accounts.

An arrest warrant was issued after Hédouville reportedly refused to cooperate with investigators, instead suing the ULCC and claiming his email was hacked.

Tito.ht, an online Haitian media outlet, claimed that Hédouville was working to “regularize his immigration status” when ICE flagged him for the outstanding warrant in Haiti. He is expected to be deported back to Haiti in the near future, the outlet reported, citing “a source familiar with U.S. immigration matters.”

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