IFW’s cyber investigation team was instrumental in the arrest of
IFW worked in close coordination with Nine Network’s A Current Affair to track Foster’s location and to prove his alleged involvement in the online sports betting company, Sports Trading Club. STC has milked investors of tens of millions of dollars in Australia. Foster, using the alias, Mark Hughes, acted as the company’s Australian sales manager and liaised directly with numerous investors by telephone, making no attempt to disguise his distinct voice.
STC purported to be based in the United Kingdom with extensive connections to sources within the sports prediction markets. But investigators revealed that some of the figures and results being published by STC were fraudulent and were being manufactured to create an illusion to investors. IFW Executive Chairman, Ken Gamble, headed the investigation into STC’s activities and the whereabouts of Foster.
IFW’s investigations uncovered Foster using the alias name of Mark Hughes and acting as the Australian sales manager for STC. Mark Hughes was clearly the mastermind of Sports Trading Club, as they appeared to make all the decisions regarding the payment of dividends and refunds. “Legal advisors allegedly employed by STC were found to be fictitious names and it was most likely Foster writing the emails”,
>During a recent surveillance operation, Liana Emberg’s vehicle was seen driving to Magnolia Place, Ewingsdale to collect Foster’s mother after a weekend with her fugitive son. In less
Investigators from IFW’s surveillance squad were able to pinpoint a luxury home set in the rural hinterland of Ewingsdale as the hide-out of Peter Foster and the headquarters of Sports Trading Club. When police and a film crew from A Current Affair raided the property, Foster immediately tried to escape by running through a
Foster’s arrest and his involvement in the operation of the Sports Trading Club will be disturbing news for investors who have invested millions into the company and were hoping for the big returns that STC promised in their slick sales and marketing campaigns. IFW investigators believe that a significant amount of the money may have been sent to offshore accounts but it is very unlikely that the money was ever traded on any sporting events as claimed by STC. It is more likely to have gone to foreign bank accounts controlled by Foster and his accomplices.