Baron Matson ordered to repay victims for gambling fraud organised by father Roger Matson

The son of a notorious Queensland conman has taken the fall for a gambling scheme that duped many by promising big wins on races including the Melbourne Cup.

Exclusive: A notorious Australian conman’s son has taken the fall for a gambling scheme that duped Americans by promising big wins on races including the Melbourne Cup.

Baron Matson has been ordered to pay back $US4.3m ($A6.41m) to dozens of victims and hit with a five-year jail term in the US, which he had already served during a lengthy extradition battle.

But his father Roger – who orchestrated the fraud and targeted Australians before expanding overseas – has avoided punishment after US authorities decided not to extradite him as well.

Roger, a computer engineer from Queensland who once bragged he was “the Bill Gates of Australia”, was the subject of warnings by police, watchdogs and politicians in the 1990s as he spruiked his “Winning Integrated Numbers” computer betting scheme across Australia.

He and Baron then rebranded it as the “Professional Race Organiser” program in 1999, sending letters to households in US states including Florida, Georgia, Texas and Ohio.

Roger Matson brandishes a water pistol outside court in 1996.

Court documents show they talked up their “purpose-built hardware/software package” that used an algorithm to back every runner in races, purportedly eliminating risks and delivering annual returns of $US200,000 ($A298,000) for an initial investment of at least US$45,000 ($A67,120).

Interested investors were flown to the Caribbean to meet Baron at what was fraudulently represented to be Roger’s private villa, where they were given a demonstration involving bets placed on Australian races.

In 2000, investors were offered a “guaranteed” return if they handed over $US75,000 ($A111,870) for bets on the Melbourne Cup. But days after the race, won by Brew, Baron and Roger disappeared along with $US4.3m ($A6.41m) they had reaped.

Baron was finally arrested in Australia in 2015, where he was living under the name Jah Baz. He was extradited to the US in July this year and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

A Florida federal judge ordered him to pay US$4.3m ($A6.41m) in restitution – to 27 victims owed as much as US$370,000 ($A551,890) – plus a forfeiture order of $US1.2m ($A1.79m).

In his plea agreement, Baron acknowledged the facts of the case, including that his father was the “apparent organiser and leader of the conspiracy”.

Brew wins the 2000 Melbourne Cup.

Roger had argued against his extradition, saying in 2016 it would be “sending me to my death”. Last month, US authorities withdrew their request for “health-related reasons” and said they would not “seek to move forward in the prosecution”.

Roger once owned Noosa’s priciest mansion, complete with a glass lift and a waterfall, which Queensland consumer affairs minister Ken Davies said was “obviously bought with ill-gotten gains”.

“In short, he is a conman,” Mr Davies told state parliament in 1995.

Roger had been sentenced to 13 years in jail for fraud in New South Wales – although he later denied having a criminal record – before launching his betting scheme.

He declared he was bankrupt in 1996 as the Australian Taxation Office chased him for more than $700,000.

When approached by News Corp for comment on the case, a frail Roger appeared at the door of his one-bedroom unit, complete with a disability handrail, tucked into the back of a Northgate complex in Brisbane’s north.

When asked about his son, Roger said he had sent Baron a postcard for Christmas.

“I probably won’t see him again,” he said.

“Go find something else to report on.”

- additional reporting by Matty Holdsworth.

Originally published as Baron Matson ordered to repay victims for gambling fraud organised by father Roger Matson