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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.
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.
.
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