June 30, 2007 at 4:23 AM
The co-founder of Neteller, which processed billions of dollars in Internet gambling transactions for Americans, pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of criminal conspiracy.
Stephen Lawrence, whose company was once one of the primary ways U.S. citizens placed bets with offshore bookies, acknowledged in a federal courtroom in Manhattan that the operation was illegal.
"I came to understand that providing payment services to online gambling Web sites serving customers in the United States was wrong," he told the judge.
His lawyers said he was cooperating with U.S. investigators, and had also agreed to be at least partly responsible for the $100 million the government is seeking in restitution.
Lawrence and another Neteller PLC director, John David Lefebvre, were arrested in January as part of a U.S. crackdown on the online gambling industry.
Both men are Canadian citizens. Their company was based in the Isle of Man and traded on the London Stock Exchange. Some experts initially believed that Neteller's offshore status put it beyond the reach of U.S. law.
The company also wasn't directly involved in either placing or receiving bets. It essentially served as a financial middleman, through which bettors could send and receive cash from Web-based operations located in countries with few restrictions on gambling.
Prosecutors read U.S. law differently, and charged Lawrence with violating decades-old acts prohibiting the use of electronic wires to send or receive information that facilitates illegal gambling.
Lawrence, who remains free on $5 million bail, declined to speak to reporters as he left the courtroom Friday.
"Mr. Lawrence is very glad to have this episode over and is looking forward to moving on to the next stage in his life," said his attorney, Peter Neiman. He said Lawrence intended to return to his home in the Bahamas until his sentencing, which has been scheduled for October.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Lawrence will face prison time. He faced a statutory maximum of five years, but any punishment is likely to be reduced by his cooperation in the case.
Neteller stopped processing gambling transactions for U.S. customers within days of Lawrence's arrest in January, ending a brief period in which it had soared to the top of the cottage industry that helps Americans wager an estimated $6 billion a year online.
Founded in 1999, the company grew fast as spooked credit card companies worried about legal liability stopped doing business with offshore gambling operations.
Prosecutors said Neteller processed $5.1 billion worth of transactions in the first half of 2006. Nearly all involved online gambling. A majority of the company's revenue came from customers in the U.S., and the FBI began looking at its operations in June 2006.
Lawrence, at one point, was the company's largest shareholder. Both he and Lefebvre have since left the company's board of directors.
The case against Lefebvre, who pleaded not guilty, is still pending.
The co-founder of Neteller, which processed billions of dollars in Internet gambling transactions for Americans, pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of criminal conspiracy.
Stephen Lawrence, whose company was once one of the primary ways U.S. citizens placed bets with offshore bookies, acknowledged in a federal courtroom in Manhattan that the operation was illegal.
"I came to understand that providing payment services to online gambling Web sites serving customers in the United States was wrong," he told the judge.
His lawyers said he was cooperating with U.S. investigators, and had also agreed to be at least partly responsible for the $100 million the government is seeking in restitution.
Lawrence and another Neteller PLC director, John David Lefebvre, were arrested in January as part of a U.S. crackdown on the online gambling industry.
Both men are Canadian citizens. Their company was based in the Isle of Man and traded on the London Stock Exchange. Some experts initially believed that Neteller's offshore status put it beyond the reach of U.S. law.
The company also wasn't directly involved in either placing or receiving bets. It essentially served as a financial middleman, through which bettors could send and receive cash from Web-based operations located in countries with few restrictions on gambling.
Prosecutors read U.S. law differently, and charged Lawrence with violating decades-old acts prohibiting the use of electronic wires to send or receive information that facilitates illegal gambling.
Lawrence, who remains free on $5 million bail, declined to speak to reporters as he left the courtroom Friday.
"Mr. Lawrence is very glad to have this episode over and is looking forward to moving on to the next stage in his life," said his attorney, Peter Neiman. He said Lawrence intended to return to his home in the Bahamas until his sentencing, which has been scheduled for October.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Lawrence will face prison time. He faced a statutory maximum of five years, but any punishment is likely to be reduced by his cooperation in the case.
Neteller stopped processing gambling transactions for U.S. customers within days of Lawrence's arrest in January, ending a brief period in which it had soared to the top of the cottage industry that helps Americans wager an estimated $6 billion a year online.
Founded in 1999, the company grew fast as spooked credit card companies worried about legal liability stopped doing business with offshore gambling operations.
Prosecutors said Neteller processed $5.1 billion worth of transactions in the first half of 2006. Nearly all involved online gambling. A majority of the company's revenue came from customers in the U.S., and the FBI began looking at its operations in June 2006.
Lawrence, at one point, was the company's largest shareholder. Both he and Lefebvre have since left the company's board of directors.
The case against Lefebvre, who pleaded not guilty, is still pending.
