How an Aussie school captain allegedly ripped off his mates out of millions while flaunting his luxury lifestyle

A former high school captain has been charged with allegedly ripping off his schoolmates for $2 million after being accused of running an elaborate scam through a fake betting site.

Former school captain of Ashfield Boys High School, in Sydney’s inner west, Chao Wang, who is known as Charlie Lotzke, was arrested in June after returning from Thailand.

Wang, who was the school captain in 2019, had allegedly asked school friends to invest in his online gambling platform, Lotzkebets, in 2021.

Police allege Wang convinced 13 people, mostly friends, including some he had known since primary school,  to hand over a whopping $2,092,075 with the promise they would receive large returns on their investment.

One of his closest friends allegedly invested $5,000 but was swindled into sending him $450,000 over several weeks in late 2022, police allege.

Another schoolmate allegedly sent him $80,000, and when he requested his money back after not seeing a return on his investment, was given a Rolex watch which, unbeknownst to him, was a fake.

Another friend invested almost $500,000 into Lotzkebets and received less than a quarter back after he and his family sued Wang, police allege.

Wang also hired a personal driver, who he had met in 2022 while playing online games, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Friends told police he was “intelligent, charismatic and well liked,” but confessed to a massive gambling problem and was allegedly using the money to pay for luxury hotels in the city.

The driver allegedly poured $223,000 into the fake betting site, lured by the promise of massive returns.

In July 2023, Wang allegedly fled the country and moved to Thailand, where he continued his scam.

Wang allegedly convinced another person to hand over the equivalent of $47,000 as an investment into Lotzkebets.

While living in Thailand, he allegedly continued to contact his old school friends, including one who had invested $40,000.

It’s allege Wang offered to repay his investment but informed the friend he needed to pay an upfront fee of $2,655. The friend declined.

‘He would promise large returns on investment and produce falsified documents from banks and other businesses to gain the confidence of would-be victims,’ police documents seen by The Sydney Morning Herald said. 

Police claim Wang allegedly used the fake documents to prove he had made large returns on the investments.

However, his victims were allegedly instructed to pay an ‘administrative fee’ before they could unlock their money. 

While in Sydney, Wang allegedly used the money he defrauded from friends to live in luxury hotels in the CBD and to rent a Lamborghini Aventador with a private driver.

‘[Wang] lived a life of luxury at the misery of his victims,’ the police document said.

‘[His] conduct is made more heinous by the fact that he exploited his friends’ trust to defraud them, he fully knew that his victims were borrowing from their families to satisfy his own greed.’ 

Wang’s alleged fraudulent lifestyle and scam betting company began to unravel in 2023 after his victims became fed up with waiting for their promised returns. 

Police documents allege his relationship with his driver, who drove him around almost on a daily basis in a rented Lamborghini Aventador,  soured after Wang told him he had to pay for repairs.

The documents suggest Wang demanded the driver pay $150,000, after he accused him of scraping the bottom of the luxury car in an underground car park. 

Wang also allegedly asked for $120,000 from a business partner who had borrowed the Lamborghini, claiming the money was needed to fix an engine problem. 

When both men refused to pay, Wang allegedly threatened them claiming he was part of an organised crime group and members from a crime family would murder them.

However, the driver had secretly recorded his conversations with Wang and went to the police to report the incidents in July 2023. 

‘The accused states he is a member of an organised crime group and that, if the debt is not satisfied, members of the Hamzy crime family will attend (the driver’s) home and murder him,’ the police document says.

‘The accused threatened (the business partner) claiming that his father was a member of a Triad organised crime group and that he would be shot if the payment was not made.’

Police issued an arrest warrant for Wang and had ASIC deregister his Lotzkebets business.

Wang had moved to Thailand just days before the arrest warrant was issued, forcing police to wait almost two years to take him into custody 

His time abroad came to an abrupt end after he tried desperately to reassure his Thai investor with allegedly forged letters from Australian law firms and sports betting company Bet Right.

An investigation into his dealings was launched after the investor contacted Bet Right and the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

Forced to flee back to Australia, Wang slipped out of Thailand and returned to Sydney earlier this year and was arrested shortly after, in June. 

‘His entire adult life has been spent committing fraud and gambling,’ police warned the courts in their document.

‘He has demonstrated a willingness to flee. Additionally, he states he has access to 1.5 million USDT [cryptocurrency] which can fund his escape.’

Wang was charged with multiple counts of fraud, forgery and demands with menaces. He was refused bail and is set to face court again on July 30.