Lefebvre Finally Speaks, Agrees to Plea Deal

NETeller continues to be in the spotlight as cofounder John David Lefebvre has finally been heard from. Lefebvre has agreed to a plea deal with the United States federal prosecutors in the criminal conspiracy case against him and Stephen Lawrence. The plea deal mirrors the one that Lawrence accepted and plead guilty to almost two weeks ago.

The cofounders agreed to work with the government and to testify if need be, and to be jointly responsible for the $100 million in fines the government is seeking as retribution. It is believe that the single charge, which carries a maximum of five years in jail, will be given a much shorter sentence, perhaps with no time served, as part of the deal. Both deals were entered before U.S. District Court Judge P. Kevin Castel in a Manhattan courtroom.

When Lawrence and Lefebvre were arrested in January NETeller quickly exited the U.S. market. By choosing to do this, they abandoned approximately two thirds of the overall market. This became the case despite the fact that neither Lefebvre nor Lawrence was a NETeller official.

On a civil level, the repayment of $155 million to U.S. customers frozen by the company when the U.S. government blocked the transfer methods into and out of the country is still in the air. This amount is separate from the fines being assessed against the two men. Until this is addressed and resolved, NETeller will remain in the spotlight for some time to come.