Latest news with #Ranogajec
The Age
2 days ago
- Business
- The Age
MONA founder's secretive betting business in court over ‘rip off' by employees
These were the people Sean O'Toole stood accused of ripping off. Hired as a data analyst in 2017, O'Toole was meant to be working within the confines of American basketball and baseball. But the anonymous email suggested he had secretly installed a computer code to extract other information from the company's systems, which he then used to place his own bets. The tip-off triggered the Supreme Court action to uncover the scope of what Data Processors calls 'a dishonest and fraudulent design' to use company data for personal profit. Around the time of the search of O'Toole's apartment, he was sued for breaching duties of confidence arising from his employment. The list of defendants later expanded. Data Processors also sued former employee Joel Caley for allegedly writing an application known as the Jupyter Code, which was then installed by O'Toole. 'The data accessed and transmitted by the Jupyter Code … are in the nature of betting probabilities generated by the plaintiff's algorithms, including betting probabilities relating to horse racing,' Data Processors contended. In their court filings, Caley and O'Toole said they wrote the code together. A third employee, Michael Demos, was accused of accessing other betting odds data. The trio was said to have shared confidential information among themselves and with two non-employees, Kusuv Bhandari and Richard Zhang. According to Data Processors, each member of the group used confidential information to place bets funded with their own money, as part of a rival syndicate. Four of the defendants have admitted to some liability. Demos does not admit to what Supreme Court judge James Stevenson has called 'the critical allegations' but nor does he deny them. Loading What the group resists is the suggestion that Data Processors suffered losses and is entitled to compensation or damages – setting the stage for the ongoing court fight. The most well known of the company's directors is Walsh, who signs off on the financial records while also presiding over the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart. The former mathematics student wrote in his autobiography that he founded MONA in 2011 'to absolve myself from feeling guilty about making money without making a mark'. Ranogajec, who has served as a Data Processors director for the past 12 years, met Walsh in the 1980s, playing table tennis. The pair started card counting at the blackjack tables of Wrest Point casino in Hobart before later expanding into Keno and horse racing. It was a 2008 court case that first provided an insight into the scale of their operation. When Ranogajec moved to bankrupt a former business partner, federal magistrate Rolf Diver asked him how much the gambling syndicate turned over each year. 'My guess would be $1 billion,' Ranogajec replied. Telling the magistrate his syndicate was known as the Bankroll Punters Club, he said 'customers that bet on our level number in the handful in the world'. The Punters Club made headlines in 2012 when the ATO pursued syndicate members for about $600 million in taxes and penalties, arguing the club was a business rather than a hobby. The matter later settled out of court. Ranogajec moved to London, buying a property in the world's most expensive apartment block, One Hyde Park, and now goes by the name John Wilson (after his wife, Shelley Wilson). Walsh said in 2022 that Ranogajec remained the leader of the syndicate. In March, the NSW Supreme Court deferred a decision on whether to split the Data Processors trial into two hearings – one focused on guilt, the other on the extent of the financial damage to the company – until more evidence was served.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
MONA founder's secretive betting business in court over ‘rip off' by employees
These were the people Sean O'Toole stood accused of ripping off. Hired as a data analyst in 2017, O'Toole was meant to be working within the confines of American basketball and baseball. But the anonymous email suggested he had secretly installed a computer code to extract other information from the company's systems, which he then used to place his own bets. The tip-off triggered the Supreme Court action to uncover the scope of what Data Processors calls 'a dishonest and fraudulent design' to use company data for personal profit. Around the time of the search of O'Toole's apartment, he was sued for breaching duties of confidence arising from his employment. The list of defendants later expanded. Data Processors also sued former employee Joel Caley for allegedly writing an application known as the Jupyter Code, which was then installed by O'Toole. 'The data accessed and transmitted by the Jupyter Code … are in the nature of betting probabilities generated by the plaintiff's algorithms, including betting probabilities relating to horse racing,' Data Processors contended. In their court filings, Caley and O'Toole said they wrote the code together. A third employee, Michael Demos, was accused of accessing other betting odds data. The trio was said to have shared confidential information among themselves and with two non-employees, Kusuv Bhandari and Richard Zhang. According to Data Processors, each member of the group used confidential information to place bets funded with their own money, as part of a rival syndicate. Four of the defendants have admitted to some liability. Demos does not admit to what Supreme Court judge James Stevenson has called 'the critical allegations' but nor does he deny them. Loading What the group resists is the suggestion that Data Processors suffered losses and is entitled to compensation or damages – setting the stage for the ongoing court fight. The most well known of the company's directors is Walsh, who signs off on the financial records while also presiding over the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart. The former mathematics student wrote in his autobiography that he founded MONA in 2011 'to absolve myself from feeling guilty about making money without making a mark'. Ranogajec, who has served as a Data Processors director for the past 12 years, met Walsh in the 1980s, playing table tennis. The pair started card counting at the blackjack tables of Wrest Point casino in Hobart before later expanding into Keno and horse racing. It was a 2008 court case that first provided an insight into the scale of their operation. When Ranogajec moved to bankrupt a former business partner, federal magistrate Rolf Diver asked him how much the gambling syndicate turned over each year. 'My guess would be $1 billion,' Ranogajec replied. Telling the magistrate his syndicate was known as the Bankroll Punters Club, he said 'customers that bet on our level number in the handful in the world'. The Punters Club made headlines in 2012 when the ATO pursued syndicate members for about $600 million in taxes and penalties, arguing the club was a business rather than a hobby. The matter later settled out of court. Ranogajec moved to London, buying a property in the world's most expensive apartment block, One Hyde Park, and now goes by the name John Wilson (after his wife, Shelley Wilson). Walsh said in 2022 that Ranogajec remained the leader of the syndicate. In March, the NSW Supreme Court deferred a decision on whether to split the Data Processors trial into two hearings – one focused on guilt, the other on the extent of the financial damage to the company – until more evidence was served.
Edinburgh Live
13-07-2025
- Business
- Edinburgh Live
Super sleuth uncovers 'world's largest lottery scandal' after £42m jackpot
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A 74-year-old woman who uncovered the "biggest lottery scandal in the world" has revealed the exact moment she realised winners had been "cheated" by a London banker. The brains behind the Texas Lottery stunt was former London banker-turned bookmaker Bernard Marantelli, assisted by Zeljko Ranogajec, known as "The Joker." Determined to topple the Texas Lottery, Marantelli enlisted the help of Ranogajec to fund their audacious plan. Their strategy involved purchasing every possible lottery number at $1 a ticket, aiming to bag the $95million (£70 million) jackpot. To execute this, they devised a method to utilise "dozens" of official ticket-printing machines. This was feasible because, at that time, Texas permitted online lottery ticket vendors to print tickets for their customers. With the assistance of one vendor, the pair printed vast quantities of tickets during an intense three-day operation. Marantelli and Ranogajec set up shop in a disused dentist's office and a warehouse in Texas, where their team printed thousands of tickets per minute, inching towards the 25.8 million different number combinations. However, it wasn't until the Lotto Texas jackpot hit a whopping $73million (£53million) on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, with no winner declared, that suspicions were raised, leading to the prize pot rolling over, reports the Mirror. On Sunday, the lottery jackpot soared to a massive $95million (£70million), which caught the attention of Dawn Nettles, an experienced "lottery watchdog". She noted, "There hadn't been a winner in 92 draws and sales didn't support the odds". Dawn has devoted her life to running the Lotto Report website, established in 1998 initially as a simple draw results service for lottery enthusiasts. Her daily routine involves a rigorous 12-24 hours scrutinising Texas Lotto sales for the morning, day, evening, and night draws. The dedicated retiree never parts with her computer, ensuring she can update results from any location across the states, and confesses that her bedtime rarely comes before "1 or 2am." Her efforts have previously uncovered several instances of misconduct by the lottery and unfair treatment of its players. For instance, she highlighted a Willy Wonka game that falsely advertised a $1billion prize when, in reality, no such winners emerged. The highest prize she discovered was a Texan who bagged $42,500 (£31,000). While monitoring lotto ticket sales, Dawn detected an unusual spike. On April 19, 2023, ticket sales for the draw astonishingly hit $7.3million (£5.3million). She speculated, "That night, I thought someone had invested £5million and used a computer program to predict numbers would be drawn". Despite the surge in sales, there were no winners that evening, prompting the jackpot to climb to $72million (£53million) for the following Monday's draw. "Sales were typical, given that apps were flogging tickets to punters across the US. With no lucky winner on Monday night, Wednesday's jackpot was bumped up to a cool $73million. Still no winner come Wednesday, so Saturday's draw saw the prize pot swell to $74million (£54million). "But things took a turn on Friday when the Texas Lottery Commission hiked the jackpot to $83million (£63million) - that's when I twigged what was happening. I realised someone was snapping up all the combinations and had a hunch that the commission would give the jackpot another boost. And sure enough, they did on Saturday – they jacked it up to $95million (£69million), which seemed a tad excessive." Dawn suspects that Marantelli and Ranoajec bided their time, waiting for the jackpot to roll over and grow in value to get the most bang for their $26million spent on tickets. The duo enlisted an online ticket-selling firm and set "dozens" of machines whirring away to churn out tickets from warehouses in Texas. Between the April 19 draw and the next one, their team embarked on a gruelling three-day spree, snapping up 99.3% of all possible number combinations. Armed with the ability to spit out 100 tickets a second, their relentless efforts paid off, bagging them a staggering $57million (£42million) jackpot after Texas gave the thumbs up for online ticket outlets to print tickets for players. Dawn shared her initial belief that an app was behind the ticket sales, reasoning, "I reasoned that the only way they could get all of the combinations into systems electronically. Two years later, we know QR codes were used, 60 to 70 lottery terminals were delivered to four locations and the bad guys were working 24/7 for three days to print the 25million tickets." The Texas Lottery Commission has defended the integrity of their games amidst scrutiny. Yet, legislators have pointed fingers at the Texas Lottery Commission for letting third-party courier apps churn out tickets for punters. The plot thickened when it emerged that the jackpot ticket came from Colleyville, courtesy of a vendor named "Lottery Now". Driven by curiosity about the shop's existence, Dawn set off to the listed location. Upon arrival, she discovered a lack of any storefront named "Lottery Now", which was the moniker the Texas Lottery Commission had associated with the winning ticket, stating, "I drove over there on Sunday morning and there was no shop called "Lottery Now", which was the name the Texas Lottery Commission posted as winning the ticket". Instead of a retail outlet, Dawn found a nondescript office strip, devoid of any indication that lottery tickets were sold there, recounting, "There was no retail store at the address the commission provided – it was a small strip office complex. There were no signs indicating someone could buy lottery tickets there. There was no one there and I looked through the window and only saw two desks." Reflecting on the oversight by the Texas Lottery Commission, Dawn expressed her dismay: "The Texas Lottery Commission knew exactly where sales were coming from on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and they sat back and watched. It made me sick knowing how all this works." The controversy surrounding the Texas Lottery has escalated as one player expressed their dismay at the jackpot increase: "This was extremely unfair to Texas Lottery players. I knew this on Friday, April 21 when they upped the jackpot from $74million to $83million." Governor Dan Patrick has fiercely criticised the recent lottery win, calling it "the biggest theft from the people of Texas in the history of Texas". In a move to address growing concerns, the Texas Lottery Commission in April put a stop to couriers selling tickets online after incidents like the £70.33million jackpot win in 2023, which involved bulk purchases via a courier. Amidst rising anxiety over the use of apps such as Jackpocket for online ticket purchases through licensed retailers, investigations have been launched into potential abuses. The situation led to Texas Lottery executive director Ryan Mindell resigning in April, amidst grave worries about the impact of courier services. Mindell made a statement highlighting the threat posed by these services: "The proliferation of couriers in the state has raised serious concerns that the integrity, security, honesty, and fairness of lottery games is being undermined by the continued activity of courier services,". During a Senate hearing earlier in the year, Mindell revealed that a junior employee had approved a request that enabled rapid ticket printing. The individuals implicated in the notorious lottery scheme have remained silent, with Bernard Marantelli being sought for a statement. Dawn, caught up in the fiasco, admits to feeling only "partially vindicated" and strongly desires accountability for those involved. She further stated: "I need to see that those responsible for the many wrongdoings for the past 30 years are held accountable. Will our lawmakers right the wrongs committed against unsuspecting lottery players?".
