Friends and family of Oleanvine Pickering Maynard told a federal judge Monday that she was a good person who made a bad mistake. The letters defending the former BVI Ports Authority managing director’s character came after her son, co-defendant Kadeem Maynard sought to portray himself as a minor participant in the vast drug-running and money-laundering conspiracy to which the two have pleaded guilty.
Maynard’s objection to sentencing recommendations filed Thursday said, unlike his mother and co-defendant, former British Virgin Islands Premier Andrew Fahie, the self-employed 31-year-old had no power to advance the alleged scheme through potential layers of government corruption. Through his lawyer, Maynard claimed to have had a minor role in the plot to turn Tortola into a major cocaine smuggling hub, simply introducing his mother to a confidential informant posing as a drug cartel representative. It was his second attempt at a lighter sentence.
“Mr. Maynard did not falsify paperwork at the port. He did not have the ability to arrange for the preparation of paperwork at the port. Mr. Maynard did not speak to anyone in the port to arrange for the transshipment of narcotics. Mr. Maynard did not negotiate the CI’s access to the BVI port. Mr. Maynard did not bribe anyone. Mr. Maynard neither negotiated nor calculated the amount of money to be paid for the 3,000-kilo loads. Mr. Maynard did not travel to Miami to collect any money from the CI and was not shown any money in Miami,” the court filing reads.
Pickering Maynard and Fahie were arrested on a Miami airstrip April 28, 2021, after stepping off a private jet they thought contained pre-payment for a first cocaine shipment, prosecutors said. That same day, Maynard was arrested in St. Thomas, where prosecutors said he expected to receive his first payment.
The three used code names during the alleged plot. Maynard was Blacka. Pickering Maynard was Rose P, and Fahie was Coach or Head Coach, prosecutors said.
The U.S. government’s recommendation that Maynard be sentenced to between 11 and 14 years failed to take into consideration Maynard’s minor role in the crime, his lawyer argued. What they didn’t mention was the 8,000 minutes of audio tape secretly recorded as the alleged plot was planned. Prosecutors portrayed Fahie and Pickering Maynard as enthusiastic participants. They said Maynard bragged of a lifetime of drug smuggling.
The mother and son pleaded guilty June 12 and are scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 21.
In eight letters to the Southern District of Florida court from Tortola and St. Thomas, siblings, children, grandchildren, nephews, and friends said Pickering Maynard was a generous, caring, hard-working person happy to help those in need. They said her role in a conspiracy was out of character and that she was filled with regret. One letter claimed Pickering Maynard engaged in the conspiracy out of financial hardship.
Fahie has maintained his innocence. His trial is set for January.
Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to reflect that sentencing for the Maynards was set for Aug. 21, not Sept. 21.
