BREAKING NEWS: Another Spectacular Ponzi Scheme Alleged In Florida; OLINT Operator David A. Smith Charged In Caribbean Forex Caper; Extradition To United States Expected

BULLETIN: A citizen of Jamaica has been charged by U.S. prosecutors in Orlando with operating a Forex Ponzi scheme alleged to have gathered more than $200 million from more than 6,000 investors.

David A. Smith had help from unindicted co-conspirators in Florida, prosecutors charged. The office of U.S. Attorney A. Brian Albritton of the Middle District of Florida is handling the prosecution, which seeks the forfeiture of $128 million, a sum of $40,103.90 from a wire transaction that occurred in 2006,  a home in Windermere, Fla., precious gemstones, precious metals and jewelry.

The conspiracy was carried out in Seminole County, Fla., and was designed to channel money from the scheme into U.S. banks, prosecutors said.

Residents of Orange County were affected by the scheme, prosecutors said. They noted that the unindicted co-conspirators were affiliated with a Florida company known as JIJ Investments. Prosecutors did not name the unindicted co-conspirators, describing them as “Directors” of JIJ.

In 2005, Smith formed a Jamaican firm known as Overseas Locket International Corp. (OLINT), prosecutors said. In 2006, he started another firm known as OLINT TCI Corp. Ltd. in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Both firms were described as “private investment clubs,” prosecutors said.

Smith also was the majority owner in a Lake Mary, Fla., firm known as I-Trade FX LLC, prosecutors said.

Although investors were told their money would be used for Forex trading, Smith was accused of “failing to invest their funds in Forex trading as he had promised.” He also caused fraudulent account statements to be sent to investors over the Internet, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, prosecutors accused Smith, who also is in deep trouble in the Caribbean, of transferring “millions of dollars” from investors to his personal accounts “to finance a lavish and expensive life-style” for himself and others.

Smith, prosecutors said, created a “broad infrastructure” to create the appearance OLINT was engaged in legitimate Forex trading when it was not.

He has been charged with wire fraud, money-laundering and conspiracy, and is not expected to fight extradition to the United States.

Albritton’s office is involved in the investigation of a number of highly complex Ponzi and fraud schemes, including the Beau Diamond Forex Ponzi scheme, the Traders International Returns Network (TIRN) case and the alleged Evolution Marketing Group/FinanzasForex fraud case.

TIRN operator David Merrick pleaded guilty in May to money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities fraud in the TIRN Ponzi scheme.

In the Evolution Marketing Group/FinanzasForex case, prosecutors said investigators had tied some of the money collected in the alleged scheme to the international narcotics trade. Court filings in the case paint a picture of an incredibly elaborate maze of companies and bank accounts set up to confuse both investors and law enforcement. At least 59 bank accounts, 294 bars of gold and nine luxury vehicles have been seized in the case. One of the cars was a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago valued at more than $430,000.