Neteller founder pledges to 'clear his name'
By Daniel Pimlott in New York
Financial Times
Updated: 4:10 a.m. ET Jan 20, 2007
Stephen Lawrence, one of the two founders of Neteller accused of laundering billions of dollars for internet gambling companies, pledged to "clear his name" when he appeared in court in New York Friday after receiving bail of $5m.
John Lefebvre, his co-founder and co-accused also on bail of $5m, is due to appear on Wednesday.
The men were arrested last Monday and charged by US attorneys in Manhattan with helping to transfer illegal gambling proceeds from US citizens to internet gaming companies.
Mr Lawrence, the internet money transfer company's former chief executive, was arrested in the Virgin Islands, but flew to New York, where the charges are filed, on Thursday night.
The conditions of his bail, to which he has already contributed $2.5m in cash and placed his $1.5m Manhattan apartment as security for, stipulate that he must not leave the five boroughs of New York until at least the end of February and has to hand in his passport.
At the court hearing, US prosecutor Tim Treanor pushed for tougher terms on the bail, saying Mr Lawrence was a great flight risk who might seek to leave the US at any time on his private jet. He claimed Mr Lawrence had deliberately hidden assets of at least $100m from filings related to the case.
Peter Neiman, Mr Lawrence's lawyer, denied he would seek to flee the country and "had every reason to be here to clear his name". But he admitted that Mr Lawrence had not disclosed some of his assets out of fear that the US government would seek to demand them in exchange for the money he is accused of laundering.
Mr Lawrence and Mr Lefebvre, both Canadian citizens, founded Neteller in 1999. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in jail. Neteller quit its US business following the arrests. The arrest of Mr Lefebvre and Mr Lawrence is the third time internet gambling executives from companies publicly listed in London have been detained in the US since the summer. US authorities consider online gambling to be illegal, although it is allowed in the UK.
David Carruthers, former chief executive of Betonsports, was arrested in July and is awaiting trial in St Louis on racketeering and fraud charges. In September, Peter Dicks, former chairman of Sportingbet, was arrested in New York, although he was later released.
The current attack on Neteller was notable on two counts, US online gambling observers said.
"The first surprise is that this is the first substantial criminal prosecution of a payments processor," said Sue Schneider, chief executive of the River City Group, which runs conferences for the online gambling industry, although both Paypal and Citibank have been subject to civil prosecutions.
"The second is that any internet gambling executive is coming to the US."
© The Financial Times Ltd 2007. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16714288/
By Daniel Pimlott in New York
Financial Times
Updated: 4:10 a.m. ET Jan 20, 2007
Stephen Lawrence, one of the two founders of Neteller accused of laundering billions of dollars for internet gambling companies, pledged to "clear his name" when he appeared in court in New York Friday after receiving bail of $5m.
John Lefebvre, his co-founder and co-accused also on bail of $5m, is due to appear on Wednesday.
The men were arrested last Monday and charged by US attorneys in Manhattan with helping to transfer illegal gambling proceeds from US citizens to internet gaming companies.
Mr Lawrence, the internet money transfer company's former chief executive, was arrested in the Virgin Islands, but flew to New York, where the charges are filed, on Thursday night.
The conditions of his bail, to which he has already contributed $2.5m in cash and placed his $1.5m Manhattan apartment as security for, stipulate that he must not leave the five boroughs of New York until at least the end of February and has to hand in his passport.
At the court hearing, US prosecutor Tim Treanor pushed for tougher terms on the bail, saying Mr Lawrence was a great flight risk who might seek to leave the US at any time on his private jet. He claimed Mr Lawrence had deliberately hidden assets of at least $100m from filings related to the case.
Peter Neiman, Mr Lawrence's lawyer, denied he would seek to flee the country and "had every reason to be here to clear his name". But he admitted that Mr Lawrence had not disclosed some of his assets out of fear that the US government would seek to demand them in exchange for the money he is accused of laundering.
Mr Lawrence and Mr Lefebvre, both Canadian citizens, founded Neteller in 1999. If convicted, they each face up to 20 years in jail. Neteller quit its US business following the arrests. The arrest of Mr Lefebvre and Mr Lawrence is the third time internet gambling executives from companies publicly listed in London have been detained in the US since the summer. US authorities consider online gambling to be illegal, although it is allowed in the UK.
David Carruthers, former chief executive of Betonsports, was arrested in July and is awaiting trial in St Louis on racketeering and fraud charges. In September, Peter Dicks, former chairman of Sportingbet, was arrested in New York, although he was later released.
The current attack on Neteller was notable on two counts, US online gambling observers said.
"The first surprise is that this is the first substantial criminal prosecution of a payments processor," said Sue Schneider, chief executive of the River City Group, which runs conferences for the online gambling industry, although both Paypal and Citibank have been subject to civil prosecutions.
"The second is that any internet gambling executive is coming to the US."
© The Financial Times Ltd 2007. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times.Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16714288/
Does he stand a chance anyway? I mean after all, wont the Peoples Republic of America make sure that they have the right lawyers and judges in place to make sure they go down?
It seems they can do whatever they please, whenever they please and nobody, individual or country is ready to stand up to Uncle Sam.
It seems they can do whatever they please, whenever they please and nobody, individual or country is ready to stand up to Uncle Sam.
Dante said:
you think the justice system (courts) are free from corruption and manipulation? I just dont see it.....
I hope they get a JURY trial, because I dont think they stand a chance against any judge.... I also dont beleive at this point that even a jury would be untainted....
frankly, I beleive that corruption is so wide spread, and the "rule of law" has been so badly twisted in the USA that it has become frightening. To charge these people with money laundering is so ridiculous, and such a stretch, that it boggles the mind.
people have been held in Cuba for years now without the right to see a lawyer, their families or anything! one of them was a 14 year old Canadian boy who is still there. If they can get away with that, and nobody is saying BOO!!! I fear things have gone way too far....
Let's see....they charged the guy with moving over 100 million to "hidden" accounts then let him out on 5 million bail...only 2.5 in cash.
He has his own private jet.
After leaving the court, I would pick up a carton of smokes, a six pack of Bud and ask the pilot if he wanted to get anything down on the NBA tonight.
He has his own private jet.
After leaving the court, I would pick up a carton of smokes, a six pack of Bud and ask the pilot if he wanted to get anything down on the NBA tonight.
Dante said:
It's going to take someone with a lot of money and balls of steel. There's a reason that over 95% of all Federal indictments end with a plea deal--the government gives you a choice of going to trial and facing 20 years in the hole, or getting 1 year plus probation. The decision is pretty much a no-brainer for most people. It's easy to talk about "standing on principle" when you're not the person facing a couple of decades in the grey bar motel. I'd love to see it happen but its going to take a special person to fight the feds....
post # 10 says it best.....
they will threaten these guys with 20 years in Jail....
then, they will offer them probabtion and a fine of a few million....
faced with life in Jail, they will take the deal and admit to being guilty even though they are not.
History will record their guilt, and the US gov will continue on their lawless campaign where the 'rule of law' means nothing.
they will threaten these guys with 20 years in Jail....
then, they will offer them probabtion and a fine of a few million....
faced with life in Jail, they will take the deal and admit to being guilty even though they are not.
History will record their guilt, and the US gov will continue on their lawless campaign where the 'rule of law' means nothing.
SportSavant said:
And the real "Catch 22" is that the guys with the resources to fight the government have the most to lose if they do so. I respect the idea of "standing up for your beliefs" but if I had a 9 figure bank account and they gave me the option of risking jail or probation and a fine I'd defintely take their deal and enjoy the rest of my luxurious life....
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Lefebvre and Lawrence[/FONT] aren't charged under the UIGEA though. We still don't know how that's going to pan out. I think some proposed regs to enforce the UIGEA must be circulating. My guess is that's a factor in the skittishness on the part of the books and the money transfer folks. Things will get worse before they get better.
We need a lobbyist. I'm thinkin' this guy:
We need a lobbyist. I'm thinkin' this guy:
Fvck the good ole USA....I am so tired of reading about this shit.Everyday its something else.You know f they could stop gambling by doing this than I might could understand but they'll NEVER be able to stop it,there will always be somebody waiting to take your action...still cant figure out why in the hell there cant be a happy medium with all of this? Leave the offshore books alone but tax them somehow,the books would have NO problem paying and the US would make a fortune....Seems easy enough to me
