Friday, November 6, 2015. BMG: A Mexican American living in San Pedro Town who is alleged to be linked to the Allen Stanford Ponzi scheme uncovered several years ago was brought to court today on a charge of uttering a forged document, to wit a Belizean driver’s license SP-2269.
46 year old David Miguel Schnitzer, who gave his address as Grand Caribe Resort, pleaded guilty to the charge, but it is not clear if the matter will be tried summarily or on indictment.
On Tuesday, November 3, 2015 on San Pedro, allegations are that Schnitzer was found in possession of a Belizean Drivers license which he was using as his own but the license was not in his name; instead, it was in another person’s name.
He appeared unrepresented before the Chief Magistrate, Anne Marie Smith where a plea was taken from him. He first asked permission to speak before he entered a plea but was told the plea needed to be given first.
Prosecutor, Corporal Christopher Smith informed the court that it is not yet certain if a plea can be taken and accepted from him for this offense, since they are yet to get directives from the DPP’s office as to how to proceed with the matter, whether summarily or on indictment and if it is on indictment, then a plea cannot and will not be accepted from him at this time.
The matter was adjourned for Monday, November 9, 2015 where it will be decided if his guilty plea will or can be accepted.
Schnitzer, according to Caribbean 360.com is one of the key players in the scheme executed by financier Allen Stanford of Antigua, and oversaw Stanford’s operations in Mexico, Panama and other parts of the region.
Schnitzer was caught in San Pedro with the assistance of Interpol and US Marshals and is wanted by authorities in Mexico for allegedly helping defraud thousands of investors while serving as president of Stanford Group Mexico.
Investors in Latin America, including in Mexico, Panama and Venezuela, suffered hundreds of millions of dollars in losses when Stanford’s financial empire collapsed, Caribbean 360 writes.
Stanford is currently serving a 110-year sentence for masterminding a Ponzi scheme involving his Stanford International Bank (SIB) in Antigua where he was based.