Claims Against TelexFree May be Filed Starting April 1
2/28/2016
February 28, 2016 -- Alleged victims of TelexFree, Inc. will be able to start filing claims online on April 1. Telexfree's bankruptcy trustee has been contacted by alleged victims from as far away as Russia and China. Claims will require approval by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Department of the Treasury, to ensure that money is not being paid to terrorists or traffickers. The online claim system will be available in English, Spanish, and Portugese.
Claimants will have to wait months for any potential repayments, as funds that were seized from TelexFree by Federal authorities will not be release until a verdict is reached in the government's criminal case against the company and its former owners.
The trial is scheduled to begin in October. James Merrill and Carlos Wanzeler are both facing criminal and civil fraud charges. Merrill was released on bail with a GPS monitoring device, while Wanzeler fled to his native Brazil before being arrested. US authorities have been negotiating to bring him to Massachusetts for trial.