Simply The Bets boss Michael Pryde grilled in bankruptcy hearing over ‘prioritised’ payments

One-time professional punter repaid his father and brother hundreds of thousands of dollars in outstanding loans while jilted clients were left empty handed, a court has heard.

Michael Pryde was all smiles outside court, but it was a different story inside the courtroom, where he was grilled for more than two hours over his financial affairs. Picture: Richard Dobson

The bankrupt fraudster behind one of Sydney’s most high profile betting scams has been accused of using misappropriated funds to repay hundreds of thousands of dollars owed to family and friends instead of jilted clients, a court has heard.

Michael Pryde, the sole director and shareholder of failed sports betting company Simply the Bets Pty Ltd, previously pleaded guilty to criminal charges after admitting he duped 20 people including businessmen and entrepreneurs of nearly $1.2 million via a sports punting scheme gone bad.

He escaped jail time when sentenced to a community-based intensive correction order earlier this year.

However, the professional punter found himself back before the court again on Tuesday - this time in the Federal jurisdiction, where he copped a grilling in the witness box during a one-day bankruptcy examination hearing.

Pryde (pictured) took the stand in the Federal Court on Tuesday, where he was questioned about his failed betting scam. Picture: Richard Dobson

The court heard while the mathematical algorithm Pryde used to predict the bets was initially successful, his gambling soon become reckless, which triggered spiralling losses that he tried to plug by using fake betting statements showing huge wins to trick people into making further deposits.

The court heard the bankruptcy trustee had combed through Pryde’s financial records and identified about 100 creditors owed approximately $5 million as a result of the bogus scam.

Pryde told the court throughout 2021 and 2022 he had borrowed money from his brother Chris, and father Stephen, the latter a renowned Newcastle paediatrician currently serving on the board of the Hunter New England Local Health District, when his cash flow became low, but could not remember the total amount.

Court documents reveal he repaid the pair a combined $600,000 during the same time period - money Michael Hayter, lawyer for the bankruptcy trustee, suggested should have been used to pay Simply The Bets creditors instead.

The court heard Pryde had also repaid all money owing to his ex-girlfriend’s parents, who had invested funds in the betting scam.

Michael Pryde’s father, Dr Stephen Pryde, a renowned Newcastle paediatrician currently serving on the board of the Hunter New England Local Health District. Mr Pryde Snr also gave evidence in court on Tuesday.

When asked why he’d prioritised paying his brother, father and girlfriend’s parents instead of other creditors owed millions of dollars, Pryde was initially at a loss to explain his actions, before saying he’d still hoped at the time that he could “trade” himself out of debt through further gambling.

Meanwhile, Pryde revealed he was subject to threats and harassment when he was initially arrested and charged in March 2023.

When asked to detail the threats and who made them, Pryde said he couldn’t remember.

“It mustn’t have been that bad if you can’t remember them,” Mr Hayter said.

“It was enough so that it was important my address wasn’t made public,” Pryde replied.

The court heard Pryde is currently living in a shared rental in a suburb in Newcastle and is working casually as a labourer.

His current income was not disclosed in court, however Pryde confirmed he still intended to pay the entirety of the $100,000 compensation order (the jurisdictional limit) imposed by the court in his criminal proceedings.