Another Hiatus In NETeller Saga

Published: Thursday, February 15, 2007 Online-Casinos.com

ANOTHER HIATUS IN NETELLER SAGA

US Attorney's office still undecided on whether to indict Isle of Man e-wallet founders.

If readers thought that the February 14 court date set in the case against Canadian NETeller founders Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre would produce new information they were disappointed. As USA Today reported, the waiting game for thousands of U.S. patrons with money tied up in the Isle of Man based online payment service currently under federal investigation just got longer.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York extended the deadline until March 16 to decide whether to indict the co-founders of NETeller, an Internet money-transfer service popular among gamblers. Stephen Lawrence and John Lefebvre were arrested in January on a charge of conspiracy to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling

For U.S. customers of the site, it was another delay in their efforts to retrieve their money, which remains in NETeller segregated accounts until the legal issues are resolved.

NETeller says U.S. authorities have frozen access to about $55 million in U.S.-based accounts.

"As a result of the restrictions placed by third parties, court-ordered seizures and related legal concerns, (NETeller) is unable to make payments to U.S. customers," says a posting on the company's website.

FBI agent Neil Donovan has said funds are being held in court as potential evidence. He did not provide a timetable on when customers may get their money back.