Lasseter was made famous by his sensational claim, first asserted in 1929, that, as a young man, he had discovered a fabulously rich gold reef, an entity now known as "Lasseter's Reef", in central Australia.
Although Lasseter has been accused of romancing or lying about his gold reef, it is plain that many of Lasseter's associates spread misinformation about him as they were being blamed for his death having left him unsupported for months in the desert.