Betting Syndicate Collapses After Alleged Kidnapping By Australian Crime Network

A few months after its founder was allegedly abducted by members of one of the most infamous organized criminal networks in the nation, an Australian sports betting syndicate folded owing over $1.5 million.

Investors in handicapper Tyler Roberts’ Worldwide Sporting Investments (WSI) have forced the company into court-ordered liquidation, claiming they are owed around $1.5 million. According to court documents obtained by Australia's Daily Telegraph, WSI has less than $1,000 in the bank.

Roberts combined funds from outside investors and wagered them through online bookies in what amounted to a sports betting investment syndicate.

But other, less reasonable alleged “investors” took the matter into their own hands. In April 2025, Roberts, 28, and his girlfriend, bikini model and social media influencer Mariah Burr-McLean, were abducted by alleged members of the Alameddine crime family, one of Sydney's largest drug trafficking groups.

 

Gnocchi and Amputation of Fingers

The pair was kidnapped on April 10, 2025, at approximately midnight, when seven men encircled their white Range Rover as it pulled into their Sunshine Coast neighborhood of Birtinya, according to Queensland Police.

After driving them to a nearby holiday complex, the gang strangely ordered gnocchi for the two and threatened to chop off Roberts' fingers if he didn't pay them the $2.5 million they said he owed them.

Roberts later admitted to authorities that he thought the men had planned to kill him, but he refrained since his girlfriend was there.

Oddly enough, Burr McLean was allowed to keep her cell phone throughout the experience, using it to repeatedly ask friends and family for money to settle the bill. Police were eventually drawn to the unit complex as a result of others being made aware of the incident.

Around 7:30 p.m. the following day, five of the men departed the apartment, leaving two to watch over the couple. They were arrested at the scene when police arrived, which eventually led to the apprehension of the other five. Each of the seven was accused with extortion and deprivation of liberty.

 

There is nothing left to pay

Roberts allegedly met with Alameddine gang members in January 2023 and convinced them to contribute roughly $3.1 million to his sports betting business, according to the prosecution. He says the money vanished with a former business partner.

In the meantime, a number of unsecured creditors assert they are owed an additional $871,000, and three identified creditors who had no involvement in the kidnapping are attempting to recover their money—a total of $1.28 million—through more legal channels.

Although they are looking into if there are any recoverable assets left, liquidators stated last week that the company did not seem to have enough assets to pay anyone back.