NRL star caught up in alleged betting scam


NRL superstar Nathan Cleary has emerged as an unwitting investor in a failed horse racing syndicate linked to the accused mastermind of an alleged multimillion dollar punting scam.

The NSW Blues and Penrith Panthers halfback is listed as a shareholder of JWM Racing, which is being investigated by the NSW police Organised Crime Squad as part of a probe into an alleged ‘pyramid’ punters club called Equilay.

As revealed by the Sunday Herald Sun in recent weeks, the scheme allegedly targeted prominent punters including Channel 7 sportscaster Pat Welsh and ex-Wallabies coach John ‘Knuckles’ Connolly.

They were among big names on a hit-list of potential investors in Equilay after their betting account details with a corporate bookie were allegedly leaked.

Equilay is allegedly run by Tim Kelly, previously known as Tim Magnus. Police raided Kelly’s Mudgee, Queenland home in May and charged him with nine counts of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, after a Casino and Racing Unit investigation into allegations of “large-scale fraud”.

Cleary could join the list of alleged victims after becoming a shareholder in JWM Racing, along with others including his uncle, former NRL player turned finance broker Josh Stuart. There’s no suggestion they knew anything of alleged fraud. Police are understood to be investigating links between Equilay and JWM.
- - Customer
Copyright © 2026 by CreditRiskMonitor.com (Ticker: CRMZ®). All rights reserved.  You are not permitted to use this report or the information contained herein for any purpose not expressly permitted by CreditRiskMonitor.com, Inc. Except as expressly permitted by CreditRiskMonitor.com, Inc., you are not permitted, in whole or in part, to copy, alter, correct, adapt, translate, enhance, lease, sell, sublicense, assign, distribute, publish, otherwise make available to any third party, or prepare derivative works or improvements of this report or any of the information contained therein. You are not permitted to reverse engineer, disassemble, decompile, decode, or adapt the software, algorithms or other processes used to prepare this report, or otherwise attempt to derive or gain access to the source code of same. You agree not to remove, alter, obscure, combine or otherwise change any disclaimers, trademarks, copyrights, other intellectual property rights, proprietary rights, or other symbols, notices, marks, or serial numbers on or relating to any copy of the report or on marketing or other materials that CreditRiskMonitor.com, Inc. may provide to you. You will not use this report in any manner or for any purpose that infringes, misappropriates, or otherwise violates any right of any party, or that violates any applicable law.  
The FRISK® scores, agency ratings, credit limit recommendations and other scores, analysis and commentary are opinions of CreditRiskMonitor.com, Inc. and/or its suppliers, not statements of fact, and should be one of several factors in making credit decisions.  Any reliance you place on the information in this report is strictly at your own risk. Except as expressly provided by CreditRiskMonitor.com, Inc., no warranties or representations of any type, including without limitation of results to be obtained, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, are made concerning any part of CreditRiskMonitor.com, Inc.’s service, including without limitation the FRISK® scores.  The information published above has been obtained from sources CreditRiskMonitor considers to be reliable.  CreditRiskMonitor.com, Inc. and its third-party suppliers do not guarantee or validate the accuracy and completeness of the information provided in this report, the underlying information input to create the FRISK® scores, and specifically do not assume responsibility for not reporting any information omitted or withheld.  By using this website, you accept the Terms of Use Agreement. 
Contact Us: 845.230.3000
Fundamental financial data concerning public companies may be provided by LSEG Data & Analytics (click for restrictions)
Sunday, February 1, 2026