Paul Montgomery stole millions from the Gurney family business. He was known in the racing industry as 'The Golden Goose'Paul Montgomery stole millions from the Gurney family business. He was known in the racing industry as 'The Golden Goose'Ultimately that decision destroyed relationships, cost them over $10 million and took their company to the brink of bankruptcy as big-name bookmakers "preyed" upon a man known in the industry as "the Golden Goose".
RDS Civil was landing good contracts and employing around 180 staff. They were completing big projects on time but something wasn't quite adding up. He was uncovering large transfers from business accounts to personal accounts belonging to Paul Montgomery. "Maybe we should have watched him closer, but we were busy working in the job, not on it. He was supposed to manage our finances."Mr Hains says around 60 per cent of the fraud cases he deals with are gambling-related, and that almost inevitably a sense of shame is felt by the victim.
The brothers had no idea that Montgomery was on a multi-million-dollar losing streak that was being funded by them. They found out later that industry insiders saw him as a hopeless punter who was helping to line the pockets of the betting agencies. "They just lavished everything on Paul. He once boasted he could go to any sporting event in Australia," says Wayne.
"Duncan was the one who came down to Melbourne and the Magic Millions with and The Championships in Sydney. Everything was laid on really, no expense spared, like food, alcohol, the corporate box," says David.According to the records compiled by forensic accountants, the betting agencies that McRae worked for, including BlueBet, received around $2.5 million from Montgomery over a seven-year period — money that had been stolen from the Gurneys.
Emails obtained by 7.30 show Jess Caine inviting Montgomery to various sporting events and functions including the Golden Slipper, a dinner with State of Origin legend Darren Lockyer, as well as offers of free bonus bets.In the period when he was losing millions of dollars, Paul Montgomery was being paid an annual income of around $140,000.
VIP managers at various sports betting agencies have been provided financial incentives to keep large punters gambling.7.30 has obtained a contract for one of Sportsbet's VIP managers from 2017, when Montgomery was gambling heavily. The contract shows commissions of up to 20 per cent being paid to its sales staff on their VIP customers' net losses.
In October last year, Judge Dearden sentenced Montgomery to 10 years in prison with a non-parole period of two years and 10 months. Responsible Wagering Australia, an industry lobby group that represents five of the biggest betting agencies, declined to be interviewed for this story.last month about whether sports betting agencies should hand back stolen money, CEO Kai Cantwell said: "I think we have a justice system that deals with criminals in this country, and I think we should let them deal with the criminals and the repercussions of their actions.