Alleged bet scam leads to arrests

Brlsbane

Greg Stolz
January 11, 2010 02:30pm
FOUR men have been arrested over an alleged $10 million sports betting scam based on the Gold Coast.
Police pounced on the suspects today after a 12-month investigation codenamed Operation Stopwatch.
The probe was sparked after complaints from 'large numbers' of alleged victims from around Australia, they said.
"The operation, which commenced in January of 2009, investigated the complex business affairs of a sports arbitrage betting scheme," a police spokeswoman said.
"To date, there is in excess of $10 million unaccounted for."
The four arrested today were conjointly charged with one count of fraud between November 2007 and February 2009. They are expected to face Southport Magistrates Court tomorrow.
Acting Detective Inspector Marc Hogan, of Surfers Paradise CIB, said that the arrests were the result of months of intense investigation and were 'an excellent outcome'.
"The State Crime Operations Fraud and Corporate Crime Group assisted in this investigation and will continue to provide further specialised support," he said.