Australian lawyer who bet $1 million on New Zealand rugby game jailed for fraud

Brody Clarke at an earlier court appearance. Photo / News Corp Australia

A cocaine-addicted Australian lawyer, who bet $1 million on a New Zealand rugby match after stealing millions from his high-profile client, has been sentenced to up to six years behind bars.

Brody Jack Clarke, 36, was on Wednesday sentenced in the New South Wales District Court after syphoning almost $10 million from one of Australia's wealthiest media moguls between 2015 and 2017 - all to fuel his rampant gambling habit.

Clarke was working for Atanaskovic Hartnell Lawyers when he defrauded WIN TV proprietor Bruce Gordon and his companies, Daily Mail Australia reported.

Details of the astonishing extent of Clarke's deceit were revealed in court - including the young solicitor betting up to $3 million a day on football games.

Clarke was described as "highly intelligent, well-educated man with a stellar curriculum vitae" by Judge Mark Williams SC but had a cocaine addiction and was drowning in debt.

According to Daily Mail, Clarke started gambling online and even impersonated Gordon's son Andrew to have $7 million transferred into one of his private accounts.

The court heard how Clarke would regularly place bets of up to $1.5 million on a sporting match and would bet on several matches a day in an attempt to "double" his money and pay back what he stole.

"In the last few days of his offending he was betting an average of over $3 million per day on football games around the world," Judge Williams said.

"For example, he bet $1.2 million on two American football games, $1 million on a New Zealand provincial rugby game, and $1.5 million on a rugby league match between Sydney Roosters and North Queensland Cowboys."

Clarke was fired when the allegations were first made. He was sentenced to a three-year non-parole period, with a maximum sentence of six years' imprisonment.