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Poker e-Wallet NETELLER Founders to Fight All ChargesThu, Jan 25th, 2007 @ 12:00am Yesterday, a New York judge set Feb. 14 as the date for a preliminary hearing for John Lefebvre, 55, and Stephen Lawrence, 46, who in 1999 co-founded NETELLER, the popular e-wallet used by many online poker players. The pair were arrested Jan. 15 and charged with laundering billions of dollars in illegal gambling profits for handling transactions between US customers and online gambling sites while they were NETELLER execs. Mr Lawrence resigned as a non-executive director of the company on October 13, 2006, the same day that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) became law. He had stepped down as non-executive chairman the prior May. Mr Lefebvre had resigned as a non-executive director on December 15, 2005. However, the pair are still large shareholders of NETELLER. Mr Lawrence holds 5.91 per cent of the company, while Mr Lefebvre owns 5.54 per cent. NETELLER's 2005 annual report said that Lawrence and Lefebvre enabled the company to provide payment services to more than 80 percent of worldwide gaming merchants, and that NETELLER handled over $7 million financial transactions in 2005. On January 18 NETELLER stopped processing money between US customers and online gambling sites. At a brief hearing yesterday, the New York judge extended the $5 million bail for Lefebvre. Lefebvre refused to comment on the charges, and spoke only to say "end global warming." Under the bail terms, Lefebvre has surrendered his travel documents and is restricted to traveling within parts of New York and California, where the charges against him are filed. Similarly, Lawrence appeared in court last week, where his bail was extended, his travel documents were seized, and travel restrictions placed on him. Lefebvre's lawyer, Vincent Marella, said Lefebvre plans to contest all charges against him. Last week, Lawrence also confirmed that he will contest the allegations brought against him. Marella questioned the validity of the charges, saying, "I don't know why the [US authorities] are bothering with this now, or why at all. It's not clear that this is a liable area of law enforcement." He noted that the government has to file formal charges before the mid-February hearing. If Lefebvre and fellow Calgary Canada native Lawrence are convicted, they could each face up to 20 years in prison. The case is U.S. v. Lawrence, 07-00012, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan). Read Related Articles:
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Moon and Cada Heads-Up, Ivey 7th at WSOP Main Event Final Table After a marathon session at the most esteemed table in the poker world, a 21-year-old and a logger are set to go one-on-one for the World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet.
PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.
Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.
Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.
Isaac Baron Dominates Caesars Classic Main Event Isaac "westmenloAA" Baron ran over the final table of the Caesars Palace Classic $5,000 Main Event, amassing a huge chip lead and going home with the $246,928 first prize. It took two long days to narrow the 162-person field to the final ten. A very high percentage of the entrants were recognizable tournament circuit players, and unsurprisingly, the stacked field produced a tough final table lineup.
Tonight- ESPN shows Day Before WSOP Main Event Final Nine are Set- Oct 27 Tonight (Oct. 27) at 9pm ET, ESPN will broadcast highlights of action on the day before the Final Table of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was set. Only 27 players remain when this one-hour show begins.
Frenchman Wins PokerStars EPT Warsaw Poker Tourney At the PokerStars European Poker Tour Warsaw No Limit Texas Hold'em main event that wrapped up yesterday, French businessman Christophe Benzimra finished first taking home 358,644 Euros in prize money, while Italian poker pro Alfio Battisti finished second in the tournament.
Vedes Conquers WPT Festa al Lago Final Table Tommy Vedes is the WPT's newest champion! Vedes outlasted 274 players to win the Festa al Lago title and the $1,218,225 first prize. Freddy Deeb, who began the final table with the chip lead, hoped to win his third WPT title and tie Gus Hansen's record. Instead, Deeb was forced to settle for 4th place, leaving room for a new WPT champ. Click here for in-depth coverage of the action and photos from the final table.
Will Hungarians Get Taxed on Poker Soon? Hungarian lawmakers have plans to tax poker winnings and regulate clubs to generate much-needed revenues during the country's worst economic crisis since the end of communism, reports Germany's Deutsche Weele.
Freddy Deeb Leads World Poker Tour Final Table The WPT Festa al Lago Main Event is down to the final six after five tough days of play. Two-time WPT champion Freddy Deeb brings the chip lead along with the benefit of his under-the-lights experience into Monday's televised final table. Deeb previously won the WPT Season III Aruba Poker Classic and the Season VII Celebrity Invitational. He also owns two World Series bracelets and has amassed over $6 million in tournament winnings. A win on Monday would add $1,218,225 to that total. Click here for photos from the felt and final table chip counts. |
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