One of the two Neteller founders pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of conspiracy. Stephen Lawrence told the Associated Press, “I came to understand that providing payment services to online gambling Web sites serving customers in the United States was wrong.” Lawrence faces up to five years in prison when sentenced on October 29th.
What does this mean for Neteller’s future and its ex-customers in the United States? Almost nothing. Neteller is scheduled to announce its plan for returning millions of dollars in held funds on July 13th. As to Neteller’s future, I said months ago,
“Indeed, it’s clear what’s likely to happen. Neteller and the DOJ will likely come to an agreement. Neteller will announce that they will no longer do business with Americans, and they may have to pay a fine; the DOJ won’t indict the company, or any of its current stockholders. The DOJ might even accept some sort of plea bargain for the two founders who were arrested. It’s also certain that as part of such a deal Neteller will agree to release details of all transactions between American customers and Neteller.”
Nothing that has happened to date in this saga has caused me to change my opinion.
As a reminder, July 2nd is the deadline for filing Form TD F 90-22.1. Remember, mail the form to the Department of the Treasury, not the IRS. If you had more than $10,000 at Neteller (or any combination of foreign bank accounts), you are required to report it. Willful non-reporting is punishable by a fine of $100,000, or 50% of the funds in the foreign accounts, whichever is greater, and can also result in criminal penalties.
Tags: Neteller