Neteller co-founder John Lefebvre is due in Manhattan Federal Court on Wednesday for a review of his bail terms set last week in Los Angeles.
Lefebvre was arrested on Jan. 15 at his Malibu, Calif., home and charged laundering billions of dollars in illegal gambling proceeds from U.S. citizens to the owners of overseas Internet gambling companies.
A federal judge in Los Angeles set Lefebvre's bond at $5 million and ordered him not to leave the city except for trips to New York for court appearances.
Meanwhile, Neteller co-founder Stephen Lawrence, also arrested on the same day and charged with the same crime, paid $4 million of his $5 million bail and was released in New York on Friday. He has been ordered to remain in the New York City area until Feb. 28. After that date he is free to travel throughout the continental United States but must inform pretrial services of his itinerary, including detailed contact information for each night of his trip.
Several media reports today said the Manhattan Federal Court had set a preliminary hearing for Feb. 14, 2006. However, Rebekah Carmichael, spokesperson for the Department of Justice, said the date is only a deadline for the government to bring forth an indictment.
"The preliminary hearing date is set as a marker on the calendar—the date by which the Government has to indict the case, ask for an extension on the date or decide not to indict," Carmichael said. "It does not reflect a scheduled hearing."