A man will face court today after being extradited from Queensland and charged with an outstanding warrant over alleged fraud-related offences under Strike Force Hand.
Strike Force Hand was established by State Crime Command's Financial Crimes Squad to investigate an alleged sports betting ponzi-style scheme.
Following extensive inquiries, about 6pm on Wednesday (15 November 2023) officers attached to Queensland Police Service arrested a 32-year-old Brisbane man by virtue of an outstanding NSW arrest warrant.
Detectives attached to the Financial Crimes Squad travelled to Brisbane where they applied for, and were granted, the man's extradition to NSW yesterday (Thursday 16 November 2023).
After arriving at Sydney Airport that evening, the man was taken to Mascot Police Station where he was charged with 18 counts of dishonestly obtain financial advantage etc by deception, use false document to obtain financial advantage and threat/cause injury/harm to prevent information to police.
He was refused bail to appear before Downing Centre Local Court today (Friday 17 November 2023).
Police will allege in court the man's sports betting ponzi-style scheme defrauded over 100 victims out of approximately $4 million.
Commander of the Financial Crimes Squad Detective Superintendent Gordon Arbinja said this job acts as an important reminder of the dangers of scams.
"There are inherent risks with any type of gambling however people should be suspicious and steer away from any type of betting proposal where the returns appear unrealistic," Det Supt Arbinja said.
Anyone with information that may assist investigators is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
