More charges laid over suspicious Brownlow betting

A fifth man was charged by Sports Integrity detectives on Tuesday while former AFL umpire Michael Pell is facing additional accusations.

The fifth man, a 34-year-old from Oak Park, was charged with 21 counts of undertaking a course of conduct to use corrupt conduct information for betting purposes, and use corrupt conduct information for betting purposes – communicate information. 

He will appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 12.

Pell, who resigned from AFL umpiring in 2022, was facing six betting fraud offences over the 2021 awards.

Detectives on Tuesday added a further two counts of engaging in conduct that corrupted a betting outcome of an event contingency – communicate information in relation to the 2022 awards.

The 34-year-old former umpire from Glenroy will appear before the court on December 4.

The allegations, which have been levelled against three other people, related to the leaking of voting outcomes on some specific AFL matches and subsequent betting.

Umpires award Brownlow votes on a 3-2-1 basis after each game, with tight security around the details until the AFL chief executive reads them out on presentation night.

Pell is accused of communicating information to three other men in connection with "which AFL player was awarded three Brownlow Medal votes or any Brownlow Medal votes in six games" ahead of the awards night in September 2021, court documents revealed.

The then-umpire "knew that the information was about conduct that corrupted the betting outcome of the event" when he passed it on, according to charge sheets.

He is further accused of placing bets himself on "to poll three Brownlow Medal votes" and "to poll a Brownlow Medal vote" from five or six AFL games under the account name Lincoln Busby.

He allegedly placed bets under this name with Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and Neds in September 2021, while "being in possession of information in connection with the event contingency about conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of the event". 

Co-accused William Forde, 35, from Reservoir, is facing 53 charges, including dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by using another person's credentials to operate a betting account, passing on information to others to place fraudulent bets, and placing fraudulent bets himself, on the 2021 and 2022 Brownlow medals. 

He allegedly also placed bets across a range of wagering services - including Palmerbet, Betstar, Bookmaker, TAB, bet365, Betfair, TopSport, Ladbrokes and Neds - under his own name.

Pell's brother Donovan, 31, from Hadfield has been charged with 23 offences, including using two different account names and dishonestly obtaining their personal credentials, to place bets about who would poll Brownlow Medal votes at the 2021 awards.

Doreen man, Mitch Lucas, 32, stands accused of 20 offences including communicating information about the 2022 Brownlows to others, knowing they would place bets, and placing bets himself under both his own name and a different name. 

Port Adelaide's Ollie Wines won the 2021 award, with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps claiming the Brownlow the following year.

Australian Associated Press