David Smith has had staunch support from many faithful Olint Members up until the bitter end. Now we know that as early as July 2010, David Smith confessed to operating a Ponzi Scheme... and that makes him a criminal... Not common in the least... as a matter of fact, very sophisticated... but yet a criminal... and Olint Members are his victims.

There is not a single Olint member who will not be taking a long look at the circumstances that caused us to be emroiled in David Smith's web of deceit.  The questions are going to be many... Unfortunately, the answers are going to be few.  

Take a look at David!  Is this the face or the profile of a criminal?  We know that David was threatened with the real possibility that his wife could be imprisoned and that his children could become 'fatherless' and 'motherless'.  How much did this reality influence his decision to sign the document he signed? Could it be said that he signed under duress? Clearly he was flawed.  But was he really criminally flawed? With one count of wire fraud attracting 20 years in prison... how much is a confession worth? There is no reference to Mr. Smith ever having traded. Is it remotely possible that David Smith never traded? Did Martinez choose a complete non-Trader on whom to piggy-back and build his empire in Jamaica, while brandishing his clarion call "Learn to trade like David Smith"?  Is it unreasonable to expect that the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth has not as yet been heard?

The Government of Jamaica and especially the FSC will say that they tried to warn Jamaicans. But there is much to be said that neither PNP nor JLP Government operatives, both of which benefited from Olint, could be taken seriously as their actions of participation  drowned their attempts at protest.  The FSC tried and must be given credit for having tried. Their problem was that they wanted to impose Regulation before they initiated Legislation that was relevant to currency trading.

In hind sight... what are the lessons to be learnt?  Is currency trading fundamentally flawed? Of course not! Our large commercial banks would like us to believe that.  But they know differently. They know that currency Trading is where the 'big boys' make their 'killing', even as they throw the scraps and crumbs to the "valuable customers" who try to eek out a miserable livelihood from their savings assets.

David Smith is flawed, but currency trading is alive and well and will remain alive and well until the Governments of this world usher in a single currency regime.  By the time that happens, it will be time to get out of this world... It would be time to get out of the 'kitchen' unless you seriously plan to take some serious heat.