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As many of you know, the founders of Neteller were arrested early Monday morning. After gathering information from several credible sources and ascertaining additional information over the past few days about additional companies withdrawing from the U.S. market, we wanted to give everyone the verified facts about this week's events as well as share the status of many of the companies in question:

Neteller
Stephen Lawrence was arrested in the U.S. Virgin Islands. He resides on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, not property of the U.S. John Lefebvre was arrested in Malibu, California. The charges, as stated, were money laundering to illegal gambling websites and RICO, which stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. The latter was language used to arrest many mob members throughout history. It also includes drug trafficking and other violations. Neither man has any current position within Neteller except for ownership rights. One left in December, 2005 and the other left in October, 2006. Both were the founders of the company. 10. The complete case against Lawrence can be found here:
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=163591

The complete case against Lefebvre can be found here:
http://www.casinocitytimes.com/news/article.cfm?contentID=163594

The Investigation
The investigation had been ongoing since at least June of 2006 and evidence cited in the case goes back to the company's inception in 1999. The company started transactions with "gambling" sites in 2000. The official citation states two instances where the FBI Agent in question wagered on NFL games. He used Neteller to deposit onto a sports wagering site, which was not named. This violates the Wire Act of 1961. The third violation does not list specific merchants, but an FBI Agent deposited onto three separate online, offshore merchants, described as "online gambling businesses." The NFL wagers amounted to $250 or less and the aforementioned deposits were all exactly $25.

Associated Press Article
An Associated Press article by Larry Neumeister stated, "Lefebvre and Lawrence also conceded in the company's offering documents that they were risking prosecution by the U.S. government, he said. Prosecutors said Neteller in 2005 alone processed more than $7.3 billion in financial transactions, 95 percent of which was derived from money transfers involving Internet gambling. Lawrence and Lefebvre were charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling, and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted."

A U.S. Department of Justice statement released Tuesday concerning the arrest. It states, "LAWRENCE and LEFEBVRE are both charged with conspiring to transfer funds with the intent to promote illegal gambling. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment." The same Justice Department statement clarifies why the two were arrested and provides a link to several other arrests made: "This prosecution is part of the United States Departmentof Justice’s effort to combat unlawful internet gambling through, among other things, the implementation of the federal anti-money laundering statutes. Other recent examples of the Justice Department’s efforts in this regard include the indictments of two offshore internet gambling companies – Worldwide Telesports, Inc.,(indictment unsealed on May 17, 2006 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia) and BetonSports, PLC, apublicly traded holding company that owns a number of Internet sportsbooks and casinos, and its founder, Gary Stephen Kaplan (indictment unsealed July 17, 2006 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri). Additionally, in July 2003, one of Neteller’s competitors, PayPal, and its parent eBay, entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri to settle allegations it aided in illegal offshore and on-line gambling activities. As part of the agreement, PayPal agreed to forfeit $10 million, representing proceeds derived by PayPal from the processing of illegal gambling transactions."

Reports from the Associated Press on Wednesday, January 17, 2007, state that bail would be set for Lawrence on Thursday and was expected to be $5 million. Unconfirmed reports state that Lefebvre posted $5 million bail in a Los Angeles courtroom earlier today.

Neteller Stock
The Board of Directors of Neteller has strongly urged that the company's shares, which are traded on the London Stock Exchange, be suspended from trading. The value of these shares has plummeted recently.

The Cessation of InstaCash
On January 16, I spoke directly with Neteller and received the following wording: "From time to time, NETELLER revises the policies of our products and services. At the end of 2006, NETELLER began reviewing the instaCASH payment option, which resulted in the decision to retire this product from the US, effective January 16, 2007. As such, instaCASH is no longer available to US members. If you have any further questions, please visit http://updates.neteller.com." Neteller is monitoring the U.S. situation closely, as can be expected. They stated "We have several deposit options available: 1. Online Check (EFT) - Money in your NETELLER account at no charge available in 4-5 business days. 2. Credit Card - Instantly fund your account for a fee of 3.9% 3. Bank Wire - Can be initiated from any bank worldwide. you must personally go into your local bank with the appropriate bank wire information to initiate a bank wire deposit to your NETELLER account." Neteller assured me that all withdraw functions will remain as normal and continue without interruption for U.S. customers.

Neteller Status
As of Wednesday, January 17, 2007, Neteller is no longer accepting payments from U.S. accounts to online poker or online gaming websites. For more information, including a complete Q&A, please click here. You will still be able to use Neteller for non-gambling transactions and peer-to-peer transfers as normal. Non-U.S. residents are not affected by this move and will be able to use Neteller as normal. Neteller issued a statement Thursday, January 18, 2007 recapping the events of the past few days and further stating that is withdrawing from all gambling-related activities in the U.S. market. The official press release from the company can be found by clicking here.

Citadel Commerce
As of Wednesday, January 17, 2007, Citadel Commerce (myCitadel Wallet) is no longer accepting payments from U.S. accounts to online poker or online gaming websites. You will still be able to use Citadel Commerce for non-gambling related purchases. Non-U.S. residents are not affected by this move and will be able to use Citadel Commerce as normal. A link to Citadel's complete press release can be found by clicking here. I e-mailed the CFO of Citadel Commerce, who e-mailed back and said they had no further comment at this time other than what was in the press release. I know of no arrests or legal action taken against the company.

Central Coin
I spoke with a representative from Central Coin on Wednesday, January 17. Their service is currently closed completely to American users. It is unknown when it will be operational again, if at all. The text on the site reads, "We are sorry to inform you that the CentralCoin service is currently not operational. We will post further information on this website in due course (including information relating to withdrawing or using your funds). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Whilst we are unable to provide the CentralCoin service, please contact your merchant for other deposit options."

InstaDebit
I spoke with a representative from InstaDebit on Friday, January 19. Their service is currently closed completely to American users. This seems to be a permanent decision. The exact wording I received was, "Account registrations and transfers to and from merchants from your country of residence are denied due to U.S. law. If you have a balance in your INSTADEBIT account, you can login to your account profile and withdraw the balance to your bank account. Please contact security@instadebit.com with any further questions."

Click2Pay
The decision was made at 2:00pm ET Friday afternoon by Click2Pay to stop accepting new U.S. customers. Existing U.S. customers will be able to use the service as normal for the foreseeable future, according to a representative of the company. The decision, according to her, "was probably made due to the Neteller arrests."

Mansion Poker
Late Friday afternoon, January 19, 2007, Mansion Poker stated that it is no longer accepting deposits from U.S. players. It appears as if American users are still able to play on the site and withdraws can be done using a wire service that the site has developed. The e-mail to members read: "We regret to advise that we unable to accept deposit transactions from Members in the United States at this time. Any existing funds in your MANSION account remain safe and secure. Should you wish to withdraw your funds we recommend you use MANSION's Bank Wire Option. To take advantage of this option, register a bank account in the Financial Admin tab of the Cashier and proceed to the withdrawal section as normal. Please be aware that withdrawals via Bank Wire usually take up to five business days to appear in your bank account but can sometimes take a little longer, so please be patient. We will continue to advise you via email of any further developments. Should you need any further clarification please send us a Live Chat and one of our Member Service specialists will be on hand to assist you."

We will be adding credible information to this post as that information comes in and is verified by the staff of PocketFives.com.