Published: December 30, 2007 12:05 am      

Damages awarded in Internet Gold suit

A state district judge has awarded damages to a French national who had sued a former Greenville online payment operation, amid claims Internet Gold Incorporated never accounted for tens of thousands of dollars he sent to the company.

Questions as to whether Internet Gold or its officers may still be facing, or ever were the subject of, a federal criminal investigation have not been confirmed.

Agents from the U.S. Secret Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the company’s headquarters in Greenville on Dec. 17, 2005. Since that time, federal officials have not indicated whether there is any criminal action taken or pending regarding the company, although the attorney representing the owner of Internet Gold in the suit stated in court documents there was an investigation underway.

Internet Gold was described as an e-currency exchange, which took real money and converted it into virtual currency for use in transactions on the Internet.

The virtual currency was supposedly designed as a safeguard, backed by gold, when account holders with Internet Gold Incorporated wished to trade over the Internet with businesses both in the United States and abroad.

According to several people claiming to be customers of Internet Gold who contacted the Herald-Banner shortly after the federal raid, their virtual currency soon became untouchable and many said they were suddenly unable to transact any business with the company or withdraw their funds.

A similar tale, but on a much larger scale, was the basis of the lawsuit filed in the 354th District Court by Patrick Verbeeck and Goldtocard.

According to the suit Verbeeck, who lives in France, operates Goldtocard, an e-currency debit card crediting and exchange service based in Wilmington, Del. and AnyGoldNow, another e-currency exchange service based in Marina del Rey, Calif.

In the suit, Verbeeck claims to have held accounts with Internet Gold Incorporated and in October 2005 transferred $137,500 to be credited against his debit card account with the company in the amount of $135,437.50.

Internet Gold Incorporated charged a 1.5 percent processing fee for the transaction, although Verbeeck alleges in the suit that only $73,400 ever showed up in the account.

The suit also claims that in January 2005, Internet Gold Incorporated forfeited its corporate charter for failure to pay franchise taxes, but remained in good standing. After Verbeeck had sent his money to the company, according to the suit, he learned Internet Gold Incorporated was no longer in good standing.

Verbeeck filed suit against the company, Chief Executive Officer Mike Comer of Greenville and Jeffrey Koleski of Oklahoma City, Internet Gold Incorporated’s vice president of marketing.

Both Koleski and the company itself, through Dallas attorney Raul Loya, filed general denials of Verbeeck’s claims.

Little action had taken place since that time, aside from the submission of various motions by the attorneys on both sides. But over this past summer Loya had asked the court for a stay, or postponement, in the proceedings surrounding the civil suit, “pending the outcome of the criminal proceeding.”

Loya noted in his motion that both Comer and Verbeeck were under investigation by the United States Attorney for the Northern District in Texas and again mentioned “the investigation and the sealed indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s office.”

Checks with the office of Richard Roper, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, as well as the office of the United States District Clerk for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas turned up no information as to whether any criminal action had been scheduled regarding Internet Gold, Comer or Koleski.

On Nov. 27, Austin Attorney David C. Sander, who represented Verbeeck, filed a motion for a default judgment in the suit and Thursday afternoon Judge Richard A. Beacom granted the motion, awarding the plaintiffs $62,037 in actual damages, as well as $12,489.22 in attorney fees and expenditures. The plaintiffs would be entitled to additional damages, Beacom ruled, should Internet Gold move to appeal the decision to a higher court.

The ruling was formally entered with the court Friday. Neither Sander nor Loya could be reached for comment Friday afternoon.