BY PAUL HENRY Crime/court co-ordinator

Saturday, November 20, 2010

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Olint-boss-pleads-not-guilty-in-US-court_8170602

Olint boss David Smith yesterday pleaded not guilty to a raft of charges, including wire fraud and money laundering, at his arraignment in a federal court in Florida in the United States.

A tentative trial date was then set for January 3 next year. However, case management conferences are expected to be held before the trial date, at which time evidence against Smith will be turned over to his defence team.

Smith's arraignment in the US District Court in the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division, comes a day after he was handed over to US Marshals and flown to Florida — just two months after being sentenced in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to six-and-a-half years in relation to his handling of millions of dollars of investors' money.

On Thursday, Smith's attorney Oliver Smith (no relation) said he was awaiting the disclosure of evidence from federal prosecutors so his client could determine whether or not to fight the charges.

"...(He is) optimistic and encouraged that the matter will be resolved in a fashion that is beneficial to all the parties concerned," the attorney said yesterday.

Asked how his client was doing, the attorney said, "He's hanging in there, of course he's concerned about the charges."

If convicted in the US, David Smith faces up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the 23 charges against him.

The former foreign exchange trader was imprisoned in the TCI in October after he pleaded guilty earlier to money laundering and two counts of conspiracy to defraud. He made the plea, in part, to protect his wife Tracy with whom he was slapped with a slew of charges on the British territory two years after leaving Jamaica under legal pressure.

Smith, whose assets were frozen in the TCI, is facing several multimillion-dollar lawsuits in Jamaica and the TCI from disgruntled persons who were attracted to Olint's promise of 10-per-cent interest per month on their investments.

In the US, federal prosecutors say more than 6,000 people from Orange County, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamaica and elsewhere invested in Smith's companies, including Olint Corp, with the promise of the 10 per cent monthly return.

According to documents filed in the US court, it is alleged that Smith failed to invest the money as promised and paid returns to some investors from their own funds, or money paid by later investors.

The court documents also alleged that Smith transferred millions of dollars to his personal bank accounts, which he allegedly used to finance a lavish lifestyle.

Prosecutors are now in the process of identifying and seizing US$128 million, a Windermere, Florida home owned by Smith's sister, jewellery, gemstones and precious metals and any other items that can be linked to the scheme.

Court documents also claimed Smith had ties with i-Trade FX, a Lake Mary company that was licensed to deal in foreign currency trading.