THE ASSOCIATED PRESS  

First Posted: March 29, 2011 - 8:15 pm

Last Updated: March 29, 2011 - 8:15 pm

http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/3b4eae13d71b43428f8f0c5309cf3421/FL--Jamaican-Ponzi-Scheme/#

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Jamaican citizen has pleaded guilty to a $220 million Ponzi scheme and money laundering charges in Orlando.

Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that 41-year-old David A. Smith pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 18 counts of money laundering.

Smith pleaded guilty last year to fraud and conspiracy charges filed in the Turks and Caicos Islands, where he had been living.

According to the plea agreement, Smith ran a Ponzi scheme for more than three years and promised investors huge returns from foreign currency trading. Prosecutors say he defrauded over 6,000 investors in central Florida and elsewhere out of more than $220 million.

Smith's wife will not be charged in the case as part of the plea agreement.