Above: David Smith
By Alexander Britell
David Smith, who led the OLINT Ponzi scheme in Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Islands, has applied for parole, Caribbean Journal has learned.
Smith is currently serving a 6.5-year sentence in Her Majesty’s Prison in Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos.
Turks and Caicos Parole Board Secretary Teresa Williams Andrews confirmed Smith’s application to Caribbean Journal.
“The board has not met yet,” she said. “We’re in the process of arranging things for a meeting now — but I would safely say at the beginning of March.”
The Board said it was inviting victims of the scheme to indicate “any concerns they have regarding his early release.”
The Board said it was directing victims to send submissions to Chairman of the Parole Board Hubert Ingham.
A spokesperson for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida declined to comment on Smith’s decision.
Smith was sentenced to the TCI term in 2010.
His Ponzi scheme reportedly defrauded investors across Florida and the Caribbean out of more than $220 million.
In 2011, Smith was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison in the US after entering a guilty plea. His Turks and Caicos sentence runs concurrently with that sentence.
If Smith were to receive parole, it’s not clear what impact that might have on his US sentence.
He had reportedly been cooperating with prosecutors about alleged corruption of public officials both in Jamaica and Turks prior to his sentencing in Florida.