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  • David A. Smith,

    THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011
    SENTENCING HEARING
    BEFORE THE HONORABLE MARY S. SCRIVEN
    THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, I just want to say in
    2004, I felt that a number of the brokerage houses and
    commercial banks in Jamaica could have been and I felt should
    have been paying their investors a much better return than the
    return that they were paying, and I decided to start an
    investment club with the aim of accomplishing that. And
    because of the reputation that I had earned at my previous
    job, a number of people quickly joined my investment club.
    Things were going well at first, but then after
    awhile, I made losses. And it was at that point that I made
    what had been the worse decision and definitely the biggest
    mistake of my life. I felt that I could easily make back the
    money that I had lost, so I hid the fact that I made a loss,
    and I instead reported a gain of ten percent. My reason for
    choosing ten percent was twofold, Your Honor.
    One, it was a rate I had accomplished in the past,
    and one I felt I could consistently accomplish once I turned
    things back around. And two, I knew that with a rate of ten
    percent, no one would be rushing to withdraw their money, and
    it would have given me the time that I felt I needed to
    correct things. But even after that, I continued to make
    losses, Your Honor. And my concern no longer was my
    reputation. I was very concerned over the fact that my
    clients were actually losing money. I was terrified about the
    legal implications of what I had done, and I had also become
    fearful for the safety of and the lives of my children, my
    wife, and myself. I knew at all costs, Your Honor, I had to
    fix this problem, and I did what I did in an effort to buy
    more time as I sought external help.
    And I am not making an excuse for what I did,
    because what I did is unexcusable. It was absolutely wrong.
    It was dishonest. I led people astray. I made them feel that
    they were earning when I knew that I was actually making
    losses. And worst of all, Your Honor, it reached a point
    where I was taking money from one investor to pay another
    investor. My investment club had now become a Ponzi scheme.
    It was the worse time of my life, Your Honor. I was
    living a lie –
    THE COURT: What time period are you talking about
    now?
    THE DEFENDANT: Pardon me?
    THE COURT: What time period are you talking about
    now?
    THE DEFENDANT: During the time I operated Olint
    when it had become a Ponzi scheme. That was really the worse
    period of my life, because I was living a double life where
    people thought I was doing well, and I knew that, you know,
    everything was deceit and lies, and I had this all bottled up
    inside.

    As a matter of fact, Your Honor, when the
    authorities from the United States and the Turks and Caicos
    Islands intervened, I was actually relieved. I was extremely
    relieved. For the first time, I was able to talk about what
    had happened. I was more than willing to cooperate with them,
    and I have fully cooperated with them, and I will continue to
    do so.
    For the first time, I was able to get everything off
    my chest. When I met Mr. Ambrose and his team of
    investigators, I immediately answered all their questions,
    told them, you know, exactly what my role was, exactly what
    happened with Olint, exactly what was going on. I have not
    held back. I have not withheld. I have totally cooperated
    with them.
    As a matter of fact, Your Honor, not only have I
    assisted them with everything that happened in Olint, I also
    assisted them with other investigations, ongoing
    investigations, here in the U.S., some in the Turks and Caicos
    Islands, and some back home in Jamaica.
    I think from as early as, I think, was 2008 to — up
    to last week, investigators visited me at the county jail and
    I have done what I can to answer their questions honestly. I
    was actually surprised when my attorney told me about two days
    ago that I was not getting — I was not going to be credited
    with a 5K letter for substantial assistance that I was
    promised in the plea bargain. I was surprised, because in all
    of the dealings with Mr. Ambrose and his team, they never once
    indicated to me that they felt I was holding back or I was not
    cooperating or I was not truthful. In fact, they always gave
    me the impression that they appreciated my honesty and the
    fact that I was working with them.
    THE COURT: I’m sorry, you understand that the plea
    agreement does not promise a 5K1. It promises that the
    government would consider a 5K1.
    THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.
    THE COURT: You understand that?
    THE DEFENDANT: Yes, yes, yes.
    THE COURT: You’re not suggesting by that last
    statement that the government has breached its plea agreement
    with you?
    THE DEFENDANT: No, I’m not saying that, Your Honor.
    What I’m saying is based on the rapport and the way that we
    had worked, I felt that I would have been awarded a 5K.
    THE COURT: All right.
    THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, I just want to say that
    my dealings with Olint crossed over three boundaries, Jamaica,
    where I’d say about 95 percent of my clients are residing, the
    Turks and Caicos Islands where the investment clubs were
    registered, and the United States. I want to say that I have
    never directly advertised or solicited business, especially
    here in the United States.
    In fact, my companies were not allowed or were not
    supposed to accept business from United States citizens, but
    some did come in. The majority of them were Jamaican and used
    their Jamaican documentation to be processed into the club,
    and there were those that piggy-backed on accounts of existing
    club members.
    I know that what I have done is wrong, and I know
    that I’ve hurt a number of people. And where I may never be
    able to fully make amends financially for what I’ve done, I
    know that for the rest of my life I definitely just want to
    make a positive impact or have a positive impact on any
    individual that my path may cross. I have hurt my family
    tremendously. I have turned the wife of my children upside
    down. But at least with them, I can make amends. And if and
    when given a chance, I will do all within my power to be an
    exceptional father and a husband.
    I’ve made many mistakes, Your Honor, but I can
    honestly say that I have learned from each of them. I know
    that I will never, ever again be any form of threat to
    society. In terms of my spiritual life, in terms of my
    relationship with God, it wasn’t what it should have been in
    2004. I was living in a backslidden state. In 2008, when I
    got in trouble, I re-committed my life to God and have grown
    constant strength since that. As a matter of fact, I can say
    that that is the only good thing that has actually come out of
    Olint for me.
    It was never my intention, Your Honor, to hurt
    anyone, but I know that I have. And in all honesty, not a day
    goes by that I do not wish I could turn back the hands of time
    and just undo everything that I have done. Every single day,
    I pray and I ask God in his ultimate mercy just to restore the
    fortunes of those that I have hurt.
    I want to take this opportunity, Your Honor, to
    apologize, to apologize to you, to the Court. I want to
    apologize to everyone here in the courtroom. I want to
    apologize to everyone that has been affected by my actions, to
    other communities here in the United States, Jamaica, the
    Turks and Caicos that have been affected by Olint and by my
    dishonesty. I am truly, truly sorry, and I pray that the Lord
    will forgive me.
    And, Your Honor, in closing, I just want to ask you,
    Your Honor, in considering your sentence for me, Your Honor, I
    do want to ask for some amount of leniency. I know that what
    I have done deserves to be punished. I want you to consider,
    Your Honor, that I am right now serving a prison sentence in
    the Turks and Caicos Islands for this very crime.
    I would ask if you could also consider that despite
    what I’ve done, Your Honor, I am not a terrible person. I am
    not a bad person. And, for the rest of my life, I just want
    to live in a manner that is uplifting and positive to society,
    Your Honor. I want — I know that I need to be punished, Your
    Honor. I guess what I am asking, Your Honor, is a punishment
    that will be sufficient, but yet lenient enough to give me a
    second chance at life. That’s all I have to say, Your Honor,
    thank you.
    THE COURT: Thank you. Mr. Smith, what do you make
    of this decision to place this jewelry in your mother’s
    possession for delivery to your friend for safekeeping in
    order to have available funds at your disposable?
    THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, what really happened
    with that, it was some jewelry that I had given to my wife on
    one of our anniversaries, and it was very sentimental to her.
    And she sent it up with my mother to a friend to keep for her,
    because she was afraid that it would have been confiscated
    during all of the proceedings.
    THE COURT: But it wasn’t hers, because you stole
    the money to buy it with.
    THE DEFENDANT: Well, yes, Your Honor. But in all
    honesty, my wife did not know that. My wife thought — I
    deceived even my wife, Your Honor.

  • #2
    And it was at that point that I made
    what had been the worse decision and definitely the biggest
    mistake of my life. I felt that I could easily make back the
    money that I had lost, so I hid the fact that I made a loss,
    and I instead reported a gain of ten percent
    Classic Ponzi scheme, nothing new. And imagine that Jamaicans thought this guy was some sort of genius who had invented a breakthrough technique for FOREX trading.
    "‎It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men" - Frederick Douglass

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Islandman View Post
      Classic Ponzi scheme, nothing new. And imagine that Jamaicans thought this guy was some sort of genius who had invented a breakthrough technique for FOREX trading.

      Haha moments!!
      Life is a system of half-truths and lies, opportunistic, convenient evasion.”
      - Langston Hughes

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Skeng D View Post
        THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011
        SENTENCING HEARING
        BEFORE THE HONORABLE MARY S. SCRIVEN
        THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, I just want to say in
        2004, I felt that a number of the brokerage houses and
        commercial banks in Jamaica could have been and I felt should
        have been paying their investors a much better return than the
        return that they were paying, and I decided to start an
        investment club with the aim of accomplishing that. And
        because of the reputation that I had earned at my previous
        job, a number of people quickly joined my investment club.
        Things were going well at first, but then after
        awhile, I made losses. And it was at that point that I made
        what had been the worse decision and definitely the biggest
        mistake of my life. I felt that I could easily make back the
        money that I had lost, so I hid the fact that I made a loss,
        and I instead reported a gain of ten percent. My reason for
        choosing ten percent was twofold, Your Honor.
        One, it was a rate I had accomplished in the past,
        and one I felt I could consistently accomplish once I turned
        things back around. And two, I knew that with a rate of ten
        percent, no one would be rushing to withdraw their money, and
        it would have given me the time that I felt I needed to
        correct things. But even after that, I continued to make
        losses, Your Honor. And my concern no longer was my
        reputation. I was very concerned over the fact that my
        clients were actually losing money. I was terrified about the
        legal implications of what I had done, and I had also become
        fearful for the safety of and the lives of my children, my
        wife, and myself. I knew at all costs, Your Honor, I had to
        fix this problem, and I did what I did in an effort to buy
        more time as I sought external help.
        And I am not making an excuse for what I did,
        because what I did is unexcusable. It was absolutely wrong.
        It was dishonest. I led people astray. I made them feel that
        they were earning when I knew that I was actually making
        losses. And worst of all, Your Honor, it reached a point
        where I was taking money from one investor to pay another
        investor. My investment club had now become a Ponzi scheme.
        It was the worse time of my life, Your Honor. I was
        living a lie –
        THE COURT: What time period are you talking about
        now?
        THE DEFENDANT: Pardon me?
        THE COURT: What time period are you talking about
        now?
        THE DEFENDANT: During the time I operated Olint
        when it had become a Ponzi scheme. That was really the worse
        period of my life, because I was living a double life where
        people thought I was doing well, and I knew that, you know,
        everything was deceit and lies, and I had this all bottled up
        inside.
        As a matter of fact, Your Honor, when the
        authorities from the United States and the Turks and Caicos
        Islands intervened, I was actually relieved. I was extremely
        relieved. For the first time, I was able to talk about what
        had happened. I was more than willing to cooperate with them,
        and I have fully cooperated with them, and I will continue to
        do so.
        For the first time, I was able to get everything off
        my chest. When I met Mr. Ambrose and his team of
        investigators, I immediately answered all their questions,
        told them, you know, exactly what my role was, exactly what
        happened with Olint, exactly what was going on. I have not
        held back. I have not withheld. I have totally cooperated
        with them.
        As a matter of fact, Your Honor, not only have I
        assisted them with everything that happened in Olint, I also
        assisted them with other investigations, ongoing
        investigations, here in the U.S., some in the Turks and Caicos
        Islands, and some back home in Jamaica.
        I think from as early as, I think, was 2008 to — up
        to last week, investigators visited me at the county jail and
        I have done what I can to answer their questions honestly. I
        was actually surprised when my attorney told me about two days
        ago that I was not getting — I was not going to be credited
        with a 5K letter for substantial assistance that I was
        promised in the plea bargain. I was surprised, because in all
        of the dealings with Mr. Ambrose and his team, they never once
        indicated to me that they felt I was holding back or I was not
        cooperating or I was not truthful. In fact, they always gave
        me the impression that they appreciated my honesty and the
        fact that I was working with them.
        THE COURT: I’m sorry, you understand that the plea
        agreement does not promise a 5K1. It promises that the
        government would consider a 5K1.
        THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.
        THE COURT: You understand that?
        THE DEFENDANT: Yes, yes, yes.
        THE COURT: You’re not suggesting by that last
        statement that the government has breached its plea agreement
        with you?
        THE DEFENDANT: No, I’m not saying that, Your Honor.
        What I’m saying is based on the rapport and the way that we
        had worked, I felt that I would have been awarded a 5K.
        THE COURT: All right.
        THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, I just want to say that
        my dealings with Olint crossed over three boundaries, Jamaica,
        where I’d say about 95 percent of my clients are residing, the
        Turks and Caicos Islands where the investment clubs were
        registered, and the United States. I want to say that I have
        never directly advertised or solicited business, especially
        here in the United States.
        In fact, my companies were not allowed or were not
        supposed to accept business from United States citizens, but
        some did come in. The majority of them were Jamaican and used
        their Jamaican documentation to be processed into the club,
        and there were those that piggy-backed on accounts of existing
        club members.
        I know that what I have done is wrong, and I know
        that I’ve hurt a number of people. And where I may never be
        able to fully make amends financially for what I’ve done, I
        know that for the rest of my life I definitely just want to
        make a positive impact or have a positive impact on any
        individual that my path may cross. I have hurt my family
        tremendously. I have turned the wife of my children upside
        down. But at least with them, I can make amends. And if and
        when given a chance, I will do all within my power to be an
        exceptional father and a husband.
        I’ve made many mistakes, Your Honor, but I can
        honestly say that I have learned from each of them. I know
        that I will never, ever again be any form of threat to
        society. In terms of my spiritual life, in terms of my
        relationship with God, it wasn’t what it should have been in
        2004. I was living in a backslidden state. In 2008, when I
        got in trouble, I re-committed my life to God and have grown
        constant strength since that. As a matter of fact, I can say
        that that is the only good thing that has actually come out of
        Olint for me.
        It was never my intention, Your Honor, to hurt
        anyone, but I know that I have. And in all honesty, not a day
        goes by that I do not wish I could turn back the hands of time
        and just undo everything that I have done. Every single day,
        I pray and I ask God in his ultimate mercy just to restore the
        fortunes of those that I have hurt.
        I want to take this opportunity, Your Honor, to
        apologize, to apologize to you, to the Court. I want to
        apologize to everyone here in the courtroom. I want to
        apologize to everyone that has been affected by my actions, to
        other communities here in the United States, Jamaica, the
        Turks and Caicos that have been affected by Olint and by my
        dishonesty. I am truly, truly sorry, and I pray that the Lord
        will forgive me.
        And, Your Honor, in closing, I just want to ask you,
        Your Honor, in considering your sentence for me, Your Honor, I
        do want to ask for some amount of leniency. I know that what
        I have done deserves to be punished. I want you to consider,
        Your Honor, that I am right now serving a prison sentence in
        the Turks and Caicos Islands for this very crime.
        I would ask if you could also consider that despite
        what I’ve done, Your Honor, I am not a terrible person. I am
        not a bad person. And, for the rest of my life, I just want
        to live in a manner that is uplifting and positive to society,
        Your Honor. I want — I know that I need to be punished, Your
        Honor. I guess what I am asking, Your Honor, is a punishment
        that will be sufficient, but yet lenient enough to give me a
        second chance at life. That’s all I have to say, Your Honor,
        thank you.
        THE COURT: Thank you. Mr. Smith, what do you make
        of this decision to place this jewelry in your mother’s
        possession for delivery to your friend for safekeeping in
        order to have available funds at your disposable?
        THE DEFENDANT: Your Honor, what really happened
        with that, it was some jewelry that I had given to my wife on
        one of our anniversaries, and it was very sentimental to her.
        And she sent it up with my mother to a friend to keep for her,
        because she was afraid that it would have been confiscated
        during all of the proceedings.
        THE COURT: But it wasn’t hers, because you stole
        the money to buy it with.
        THE DEFENDANT: Well, yes, Your Honor. But in all
        honesty, my wife did not know that. My wife thought — I
        deceived even my wife, Your Honor.
        Originally posted by Skeng D View Post
        I knew at all costs, Your Honor, I had to
        fix this problem, and I did what I did in an effort to buy
        more time as I sought external help..
        Perhaps he should have given sponsorships or political contributions or bought a lear jet in order to assist with finding external help to fix the problem.
        The same type of thinking that created a problem cannot be used to solve the problem.

        Comment


        • #5
          Mi did tyad fi argue wid dem !

          Mi seh figure out wheh him really ah duh cause yuh cyaan give dat return of 10% per month consistently off of FOREX.. unless him was from di futcha !

          lol !

          Comment


          • #6
            a friend tried to get me in olint... after hearing about these 'consistent' high rate of returns, i knew it wasn't real... i had to work overtime to convince him not to throw away his money... he held off and still thank me to this day... his retired father in-law who tried to recruit him, wasn't so lucky... he lost over 150k and had to start working again...
            Last edited by Baddaz; February 23, 2012, 01:45 PM.
            'to get what we've never had, we MUST do what we've never done'

            Comment


            • #7
              convince?

              Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. Thomas Paine

              Comment


              • #8
                have a family member who grew up with Smith and him send email to her to join and she was thinking about it. I told her to becareful and she was saying "Not David that we grew up with". Anyhow she was scared of the investing and even right before been busted she was still getting email.

                I haven't spoken to her about "David" since because I know she must be embarrassed.
                • Don't let negative things break you, instead let it be your strength, your reason for growth. Life is for living and I won't spend my life feeling cheated and downtrodden.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Baddaz View Post
                  a friend tried to get me in olint... after hearing about these 'consistent' high rate of returns, i knew it wasn't real... i had to work overtime to convince him not to throw away his money... he held off and still thank me to this day... his retired father in-law who tried to recruit him, wasn't so lucky... he lost over 150k and had to start working again...

                  Yuh friend father-in-law, lucky him find work (nuh true)! Me can't take those risks, mi will go mad .

                  When I go to the Casino, I take my little $50, and when that done ME gone. Not to mention, if I win something before I spend the $50, then I am in disappearance mode fi real.
                  Life is a system of half-truths and lies, opportunistic, convenient evasion.”
                  - Langston Hughes

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Muadib View Post
                    Mi did tyad fi argue wid dem !

                    Mi seh figure out wheh him really ah duh cause yuh cyaan give dat return of 10% per month consistently off of FOREX.. unless him was from di futcha !

                    lol !
                    Ha, I wnt to school with the fellow and kenw his father and brother but did not invest even a cent and I told everyone who asked me not to do it. I had seen an article about FOREX J curves or something like that and it said that Davis' trading successes were outside of the J curves and that thats impossible and that he will certainly go to prison.

                    LOL
                    The same type of thinking that created a problem cannot be used to solve the problem.

                    Comment

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