Grab several bags of popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show, people, because this is going to take longer than a couple weekends of binge-watching an entire suspense series on Netflix. Even ‘Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street’, a four episode documentary series that was released on Netflix on January 4 this year, could be watched in one night. The SSL scandal, which has hit the pages of traditional and social media alike, will hardly be resolved by next weekend, but Jamaicans are currently riveted and addicted to what is being called one of the largest fraud cases ever to hit our island’s shores.
Of course, we Jamaicans are furious. Not only has the legendary sprinter Usain Bolt, a national treasure, our hero, been massively affected by this fraud, but others have come forward to claim the losses that have jeopardised their livelihoods. It stands to reason that there could be many more clients who have lost funds through shares, bonds, etcetera, which they may have bought over the last decade or so. Those who follow the stock market and make investments do know that there is always a risk of losing some money. However, we can keep abreast of the situation and make choices according to how the financial market is going. Sometimes, we do solicit the service of investment/brokerage/wealth management firms. We place our trust in them because we believe we have done due diligence by doing research, getting recommendations, seeing successes, and so on. No-one with integrity could ever imagine this trust would be discarded like used toilet paper! Yet, here we are. Jamaicans have been gypped.
There have been all kinds of accusations spinning around social media, some of which may well be true, or false, but speculation is not going to help the crime-solvers get to the complete truth. While there are people who would like Bolt to extrapolate on his business, I do feel he is doing the right thing by giving the bare minimum of details. I have to imagine that he is not only getting sound advice from his legal team, but also Bolt is not going to suffer fools lightly. In fact, from the countless comments I have seen on social media, after certain “disclaimer” statements were made in traditional media, Jamaicans are not going to suffer fools lightly either. Nor should they!
What is interesting is why this devastating news only broke two weeks ago. Why didn’t someone else come forward before Bolt? Surely there are other large investors who have lost their retirement funds. If so, did they hold back through fear? Did they turn a blind eye because they didn’t want to defecate in their own backyard, so to speak? Did they keep quiet for the sake of social standing? Perhaps they didn’t understand they’d been fleeced, but thought they’d simply suffered a loss from a poor investment. All food for thought.
Speaking of food, I hope the supermarkets are stocking up on their popcorn supplies, because if we want justice, we are going to have to be in this for the long haul.
For more information about the Madoff scandal and the incompetency of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), read ‘No One Would Listen’ by Harry Markopolous: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7740121-no-one-would-listen
For some interesting literature on fraudulent schemes in Jamaica, read Kayyonne Marston’s Dissertation for his Doctorate: ‘In Pursuit of Illicit Goals: Structure, Dynamics, and Collapse of Crime Facilitating Networks in Jamaica’, notably Chapter 7 (Olint/David Smith): http://mars.gmu.edu/bitstream/handle/1920/10608/Marston_gmu_0883E_11239.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y