Free Republic

On March 16th the United States government asked for and was granted a continuance in their case against NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre. The schedule hearing will now take place on April 16th, 2007 according to an announcement by the Information Office of the United States Attorney in New York. Department of Justice spokesperson Rebecca Carmichael informed reporters that the extension had not been opposed by the two NETeller founders, both of which posted bail bonds of $5 million following their arrests by the FBI. Lawrence and Lefebvre are still confined to the New York City limits until...

The FBI has frozen funds held in customer accounts at Neteller, the "virtual wallet" payment processor, as part of its case against the firm's two Canadian founders who were last month arrested and charged with racketeering and money laundering. Neteller refused to disclose how much had been frozen but company filings make clear huge sums were flowing between its US customers' "e-wallets" and online merchants - particularly gambling websites - up until the firm was pressured to close its American operations in the wake of last month's arrests. Over a six-month period last year the company processed transactions worth $5.1bn...

Some Poker Sites Have Restricted All NETELLER Transactions, Not Just InstaCash Some poker sites have limited or completely restricted NETELLER transactions following the detainment of two former NETELLER executives by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since the incident, NETELLER has banned the use of its InstaCash feature for U.S. residents, but continues to allow users to fund sites with money that already resides in their NETELLER accounts. Poker sites had mixed responses to NETELLER’s move. PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, for instance, followed the NETELLER ban exactly and now prevent users from funding their accounts using InstaCash. Bodog, on...

Saltspring Island resident John Lefebvre hit the jackpot in November 2005 when he cashed in $123 million worth of shares of his offshore company, NETeller Inc., which handles billions of dollars of money transfers for Internet gamblers. The bonanza enabled him to pursue a life of luxury, including a beach house in Malibu (which actress Jennifer Aniston was also eyeing), and to support various academic, philanthropic and political endeavours, including a $170,000 donation aimed at helping Vision Vancouver's Jim Green win the mayor's chair in the last civic election. But in a sudden reversal of fortune Monday, Lefebvre, 55, was...