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NETeller Customers Will Wait Longer to Get Paid
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — The waiting game for thousands of U.S. patrons with money tied up in an online payment service under federal investigation just got longer.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York late Wednesday said it 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 recoup their money, which remains in Neteller accounts until the legal matter is 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.
By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO — The waiting game for thousands of U.S. patrons with money tied up in an online payment service under federal investigation just got longer.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York late Wednesday said it 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 recoup their money, which remains in Neteller accounts until the legal matter is 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.