NETeller ex exec Lefebvre also pleads guilty

[Mousey]

If this has already been posted somewhere, I apologize...

UPDATE 2-Ex-NETeller exec pleads guilty in gambling case
Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:27 PM BST
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By Christine Kearney

NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - A former president and co-founder of payment processor NETeller Plc (NLR.L: Quote, Profile , Research) pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a conspiracy charge related to handling billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds.

John Lefebvre, 55, entered the plea before U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel during a hearing in Manhattan, just days after co-founder Stephen Lawrence also pleaded guilty in the case.


Lefebvre, a Canadian Citizen who ran NETeller's business operations, agreed to cooperate with the government as part of a plea deal. He faces up to five years in jail when he is sentenced on Nov. 1.

During the hearing, Lefebvre admitted promoting Internet gambling. Its legality was ambiguous in the United States for many years, but was effectively banned last October when President George W. Bush signed legislation outlawing gaming financial transactions.

"I eventually came to see that promoting payment services to online gambling businesses serving customers in the United States was wrong," Lefebvre sa......

[EasyRhino]

Wow, they were both quoted as saying it was "wrong", not "illegal".

Maybe they should just go sit in the corner?

[Mousey]

AFX UK Focus) 2007-07-11 18:17 GMT:
Neteller to be deleted from FTSE AIM All-Share indices

Article layout: raw
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - FTSE said Neteller PLC will be deleted from the FTSE AIM All-Share index, FTSE AIM 100 index and FTSE AIM UK 50 index with effect from July 16 following the continued suspension of trading of its shares on AIM for a period of six months.

Neteller's shares were suspended on Jan 16 pending clarification after...

[jetset]

Nothing up on their plc group site investor's section yet which is a shocker because they must have been informed of this removal before the media got hold of it, and they should therefore have informed investors by mail and a company notice on the site.

[EasyRhino]

Bout damn time they got delisted. Being suspended for six months was ludicrous.

[jetset]

I've just checked again on the Neteller plc site and still no mention of the AIM exclusion. Yet they have this up, dated July 12. It's just a rehash of the release they put up when Lawrence pleaded guilty:

Thursday, 12 July 2007 - NETELLER Plc (LSE: NLR), the independent global online payments business, today issued the following statement regarding the announcement on Tuesday, 10 July 2007 by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (USAO) regarding Mr John Lefebvre, one of the Company’s former directors and founder shareholders.

According to the USAO announcement, Mr Lefebvre has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy in connection with his role in NETELLER’s prior involvement in handling financial transactions between gambling customers in the United States and offshore internet gambling businesses. In relation to this charge, Mr Lefebvre also admitted to allegations requiring him to forfeit at least US$ 100 million jointly with Mr Stephen Lawrence, who pleaded guilty to a similar charge on 29 June 2007.

Other than as shareholders, neither Mr Lawrence nor Mr Lefebvre has any current position with or connection to NETELLER.

As stated in the Company’s announcement of 2 July 2007, NETELLER is continuing to cooperate with the investigation being conducted by the USAO, under the advice of its legal advisers and in accordance with court orders in the Isle of Man. The Company remains in discussions with the USAO for the purpose of resolving the investigation and has advised the USAO that it will use its best efforts to resolve the investigation on or soon after 13 July 200.

However, the Company believes that these and other recent developments will likely delay its efforts to resolve the investigation by a short period. A further update will be given on 13 July 2007.

The Company’s ordinary shares will continue to be suspended from trading. Further information will be announced as and when it becomes available.

[Mousey]

However, the Company believes that these and other recent developments will likely delay its efforts to resolve the investigation by a short period. A further update will be given on 13 July 2007.

*heavy sigh* These 'short' delays are getting monotonous. And I seem to have forgotten to thank the DoJ for protecting me from losing my money to conniving, greedy, .... oh. wait. oops! I forgot the DoJ already has US customers' monies... my bad...

[jetset]

United States Attorney
Southern District of New York

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

July 10, 2007 YUSILL SCRIBNER,

REBEKAH CARMICHAEL
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
(212) 637-2600

NETELLER FOUNDER PLEADS GUILTY TO
CONSPIRING TO PROMOTE ILLEGAL
INTERNET GAMBLING BUSINESSES

MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, announced that JOHN DAVID
LEFEBVRE, a founder and former President of the NETeller Group,
pleaded guilty today to charges that he conspired with others to
promote illegal gambling by providing payment services in the
United States to offshore internet gambling businesses.

According to the documents filed and LEFEBVRE’s plea allocution
in Manhattan federal court:

In 1999, LEFEBVRE, together with STEPHEN ERIC LAWRENCE,
founded the NETeller Group, a group of companies that provided
online payment services to internet gambling companies. In July
2000, LEFEBVRE and LAWRENCE began providing payment services
through NETeller Inc., a Canadian company based in Calgary,
Alberta. In 2004, LEFEBVRE and LAWRENCE began providing payment
services through NETeller PLC, a public company based in the Isle
of Man. The NETeller Group provided those services to internet
gambling businesses located outside the United States, so those
businesses could take bets from gamblers in the United States,
where such betting is illegal. In April 2004, NETeller PLC went
public on the Alternative Investment Market (“AIM”) of the London
Stock Exchange.

In addition to founding the NETeller Group, LEFEBVRE
served those companies in senior management positions, including
as President of NETeller, Inc. from 2000 to 2002 and as a Nonexecutive
Director of Neteller PLC upon its admission to AIM on
April 14, 2004.

LEFEBVRE pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to
use the wires to transmit in interstate and foreign commerce bets
-2-

and wagering information; to conduct illegal gambling businesses;
to engage in international financial transactions for the purpose
of promoting illegal gambling; and to operate an unlicensed money
transmitting business. During the course of the plea allocution,
LEFEBVRE admitted that, during the time he operated the NETeller
Group, he learned that laws in the United States prohibited
certain funds transfers for the purpose of promoting gambling,
and as a result, he knew his conduct was wrong. LEFEBVRE, 55,
faces a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of
$250 thousand, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense,
when he is sentenced before United States District Judge P. KEVIN
CASTEL on October 29, 2007. LAWRENCE also admitted to forfeiture
allegations requiring him to forfeit $100 million.

In a related case, former NETeller President and Board of Directors member
STEPHEN ERIC LAWRENCE pleaded guilty on June 29, 2007 to
participating in the same conspiracy and also admitted to a
forfeiture allegation of $100 million for which he is jointly
responsible with LEFEBVRE.

Mr. GARCIA praised the investigative efforts of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys TIMOTHY J. TREANOR,
CHRISTOPHER P. CONNIFF, and SHARON COHEN LEVIN are in charge of
the prosecution.
07-175 ###

BTW Sentencing on both Lawrence and Lefebvre is scheduled for October 29 2007.

[Stanford]

However, the Company believes that these and other recent developments will likely delay its efforts to resolve the investigation by a short period. A further update will be given on 13 July 2007.

Does anyone here have any contacts that they might shed a little light on what's going on? Neteller used to post here. Have we lost all contact?

I am amazed that there doesn't seem to be any comments for unnamed Neteller contacts on any of the boards after this legnth of time. You would think someone would get some information.

Stanford.

[jetset]

It's very frustrating trying to get anything out of Neteller, indeed it's an achievement even getting an acknowledgement of a media enquiry from both the company and its PR agency.

Whilst one can understand that being a public company it is under some constraints on what it can say, my perception is that it has become even harder to elicit a response at all since January when all this nonsense started.

The new debit card they've been promising everyone is a case in point - a professional organisation should be trying to reassure clients and keep them advised with progress reports, yet we hear very little from them and their members are in many cases sitting with monies still tied up.