Angry punters in Bill Vlahos’ Edge punting club forced to pay back millions

Punters in one of Australia’s biggest gambling scams from Victoria, NSW, Queensland and South Australia have been forced to pay back millions.

Racing identity Bill Vlahos.

Exclusive: Punters in one of Australia’s biggest gambling scams have been forced to pay back almost $2 million and are being chased for $20 million more.

But victims of Bill Vlahos’ Ponzi scheme, which ran as The Edge punting club, are unlikely to see a cent after costs are deducted by the bankruptcy trustees.

Exclusive documents obtained by News Corp Australia show the extent of the clawback from syndicate leaders who unknowingly lured in their friends and family to the punting club.

The club claimed to be making returns of up to 25 per cent betting on Melbourne and Sydney races.

Victims were spread across Victoria, News South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the UK.

The Geelong-based Vlahos made a name for himself in racing with his company BC3 Thoroughbreds by spending big at the Magic Millions on the Gold Coast and in paying $5 million for Jimmy, a half brother to Black Caviar, at the Inglis sales in Sydney.

That horse would later die of a mysterious spider bite.

Angry punters are disappointed at the trustees’ fees, while others say that syndicate leaders are to blame and should pay back the money to members.

Philip Newman, of PCI Partners, has taken on Vlahos’ bankruptcy case, which is separate to the criminal charges to which Vlahos has pleaded guilty.

“I estimate that the total remuneration to be received in administering the bankrupt estate will be $1,941,819.25, plus GST, of which, $1,734,754.25, plus GST, has been incurred for the period 16 December 2013 to 6 January 2021,” Mr Newman’s report states.

There was only $1.6 million in the estate at the time of his report.

The bankruptcy trustee’s letter to punters in The Edge.

He argued that he wanted more time to chase further debts, which would also increase his fees, which are charged at up to $640 an hour.

“There are currently 14 claims which I am pursuing totalling $20,010,121. It is my intention to continue pursuing these claims in order to increase the balance of surplus funds and improve any future dividend to unsecured creditors of the bankrupt estate.

“Creditors should be aware that my remuneration and disbursements are only paid to the extent of funds available from recoveries made in the bankrupt estate.”

But angry investors say the money chase is just another slap in the face after they were fleeced by Vlahos.

“We are never going to get our money back, I can’t be f******, I’ve just had a gutful,” one punter said.

The collapse of The Edge punting club in December 2013 left debts of $150 million, however, members thought they had balances of up to $500 million.

Court documents reveal some lost up to $1.5 million of their own money, while many encouraged their family and friends to invest leading to feuds.

A fire damaged a ute at Bill Vlahos’ home outside Geelong in the days after the punting club collapsed.

Black Caviar’s breeder Rick Jamieson with Bill Vlahos after he bid for Jimmy.

The collapse of the fund led to marriage break ups, forced sales of family homes and some victims were so damaged they were unable to work for several years because of the stress.

More than 1500 people thought they were betting on Melbourne and Sydney races through a Dubai based punter called Daniel Maxwell.

That punter did not exist and the bets were never placed in the volume claimed.

The former house of Bill Vlahos in Torquay.

Another angry punter said that syndicate leaders, who often recruited their family and friends, needed to take responsibility for the debts.

“There’s a lot of bad blood between us and the syndicate leaders,” one said.

“All of the money that they took from Vlahos was stolen money and should be returned.”

Vlahos is awaiting a court date for a plea sentencing hearing after claiming that his human rights were breached when during a court-ordered psychological assessment.

He has been on remand since February 2020 when he pleaded guilty to two charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception over $17.5 million after 300 other charges were dropped in a plea deal.

Mr Newman did not respond to requests for comment.

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