WPT Highroller Winner in $30million Sportsbetting Ponzi Scheme Investigation

Last year’s WPT Australia SHR champion, Marley Wynter, is embroiled in Ponzi scheme accusations concerning his operation of a $multi-million sports betting syndicate.

Wynter (spelled as Winter on Hendon Mob) scooped AUD$430,919 (US$287,164) for his best-ever score at the WPT 20th Anniversary SHR at the Star Gold Coast casino last September.

However, it is his sportsbetting syndicate – operating under Marley’s House of Sport (MHS) and Marley’s House of Investment (MHI) – that have brought him back to the headlines this year.

Ponzi scheme or Witchhunt?

Hundreds of sportsbetting investors, many of them poker players, have claimed that Wynter has failed to pay out profits on their investments and even failed to pay back the initial deposits.

Marley, who closed down the businesses earlier this year, has refuted allegations of fraud, claiming he is the victim of “a witchhunt”, but the authorities are now involved in investigating his practices.

PokerMedia Australia have reported that “MHS is currently being investigated by Queensland Police Service’s Financial Crime Assessment Team and its Cybercrime unit, while official complaints have also been filed with Tasmania Police.”

Don't F*** With Poker Players

The Ponzi scheme claims that had swirled around Marley’s businesses for a while took shape when Aussie poker pro, Craig Abernethy, set up a Facebook group for those affected.

Abernethy told PMA that he was asked about investing in Marley’s business by friends, but instead quickly realised something was seriously amiss.

“They knew I was a successful sports bettor and thought it would be something I might be interested investing in, but after looking into it I quickly realised it didn’t add up,” said Abernethy.

The money believed to have been invested, some $3million, was showing as now being worth $32million, Wynter’s sportsbetting scheme apparently producing roughly 10x ROI.

“If you’ve got a system like he is claiming, the biggest problem winning sports bettors have is volume and the ability to put the bets down. Scaling up a sports betting system is always going to run into problems with bookies restricting accounts.

Abernethy added: “So many things just didn’t make any sense. In one audio message sent to his members Marley asked them all to pay a $25 annual fee to cover the cost of a new $80,000 server he needed due to expansion.

Greedy morons or fleeced investors?

“In others he would continually require members to top up their accounts because their lower tier levels were suddenly being removed. He would also discourage any withdrawals and call anyone who wanted to withdraw their profits ‘greedy’ or ‘morons’ claiming it would cost them long-term gains.

“There was no transparency at all and no proof that the millions displayed in members account balances on his website actually existed.

Abernethy explained his reasons for setting up the group, known by the title Marleys House of Sport (formally Don't F*** With Poker Players): “My goal was just to warn people in the poker community. I thought it mainly involved poker players and their families and I just wanted them to be aware.”

“To me it had lots of red flags. I often heard members discussing how in a year’s time their accounts would have earned enough for them to be able to buy houses for their kids and parents.

“I’m glad that quite a few people who know me and trust me either didn’t invest at all or got out of it when they did, because I knew what was going to happen down the track. That was my biggest concern.”

No money, accounts closed?

What happened “down the track” was that Wynter closed down his business, though he promised to pay back those involved thehir initial investments plus a 5% bonus.

However, the Hobart Mercury newspaper reported this week that “...while some clients reportedly received their deposits – many more are claiming they are yet to see a cent, two months on from its closure.”

They added: “Social media pages for MHS including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch appear to have had their content wiped or hidden, and were unable to be viewed.”

Kids with Cancer Charity Lies

It has also been claimed that Wynter’s MHS business advertised having made a $50,000 donation to the charity Kids with Cancer charity organisation, but PMA claim that the charity’s CEO, Todd Prees, “denied having ever received such a payment” and had sent a “cease and desist” for MHS to stop using the Kids with Cancer brand in its advertising.

Investigation Ongoing

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson stated: “The Queensland Police Service has received cybercrime reports in relation to an alleged fraudulent betting investment scheme involving victims in Queensland. For privacy reasons and as the matter is under investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further.”