Guy Sebastian’s former supervisor might be entitled to an acquittal after he was jailed for embezzling greater than $620,000 of the pop singer’s earnings, a court docket has been instructed.
Titus Day was led away from court docket in handcuffs after studying he would spend not less than 2½ years behind bars in November final yr.
The 49-year-old was sentenced for swindling the whopping quantity from the pop star and inaugural winner of Australian Idol after being discovered responsible on a number of prices by a NSW District Court in 2022.
Mr Day has now taken his combat to the Court of Criminal Appeal earlier than three judges – Justice Hament Dhanji, Acting Justice Carolyn Simpson and Justice Julia Lonergan – and continues to disclaim any wrongdoing.
He appeared in court docket on Friday through AVL sporting his jail greens and studying glasses as his barrister Brett Walker SC instructed the court docket Mr Day’s enchantment had three grounds.
Mr Walker stated the primary floor, which might acquit Mr Day if it succeeds, was that there was an unreasonable verdict primarily based on the definition of a clerk or servant relationship with a grasp.
He argued Mr Day was not Mr Sebastian’s clerk, as he had a contract with Mr Day’s administration firm Six Degrees.
“What is clear, the Crown put a case that the agreement was with Six Degrees … it was Six Degrees and Six Degrees only was the collectors of moneys,” Mr Walker instructed the court docket.
“It was Mr Day’s involvement that had control over Six Degrees.”
Mr Walker additionally instructed the court docket the pop singer’s credibility can be questioned after he instructed the court docket throughout his proof at trial that Mr Day had written an electronic mail that was despatched from Mr Sebastian’s personal electronic mail deal with.
He instructed the court docket this was a problem of dishonesty within the trial that “invited the jury to infer Mr Day authored this email” understanding he was wrongly embezzling cash.
“The Crown having framed this in such a way as to put Mr Sebastian’s evidence … corroborated as it may have been … placed Mr Day front and centre where the jury is concerned,” Mr Walker stated.
Justice Simpson questioned whether or not Mr Day would have been charged as an adjunct if it was discovered the embezzlement was accomplished by the company.
She stated if the bottom for enchantment succeeds, Day can be entitled to an acquittal.
The second floor of enchantment pertains to whether or not a miscarriage of justice was occasioned from the Crown’s closing deal with, the place there was an emphasis on the complainant’s failure to provide proof that allegedly influenced the jury.
Mr Walker instructed the court docket a “bold statement” was made within the defence opening argument that stated: “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there will be an answer to these charges.”
The court docket was instructed the jury then understood Mr Day can be known as to provide proof; nevertheless, the defence selected to not use him as a witness.
When this determination was made, the court docket heard Judge Timothy Gartelmann instructed the jury “as a consolation the trial is going to end much sooner than you or I expected”.
Mr Walker stated the Crown was “not capable of correcting the elaborate submission” the place the jury understood “only Mr Day would be in the position to give answers to the charges”.
He stated the Crown “well and truly” crossed the road.
“That is simply wrong and hollows out the right to silence, the right to not participate in a trial against you – it is in our submission unacceptable in this particular case,” he stated.
A Crown prosecutor instructed the court docket the trial choose handled a variety of complaints in the course of the trial, together with the wording of the defence and Crown arguments.
He stated the unfairness was “not as bad” as Mr Walker recommended.
The third floor for enchantment pertains to whether or not the jury reached a verdict following undue strain from a fellow juror.
Mr Walker instructed the court docket there was a measure of “conflict or tension or severe disagreement” within the jury room.
The size of the trial was prolonged by a fortnight as a result of unexpected circumstances, together with the demise of the preliminary trial choose and Mr Sebastian getting Covid-19.
There have been issues in regards to the behaviour of 1 juror who expressed nervousness about ending the trial in time for an upcoming abroad vacation.
“The judge did nothing to allay the concern of the unjustified pressure,” Mr Walker stated.
“There were in fact no words said to the juror or anything else expressing such anxieties which would allay the concern the case would not finish by a certain date.”
The prosecutor instructed the court docket the jury reached a variety of completely different verdicts and the choose introduced within the juror in query twice to guarantee him he would make his flight.
“It’s hard to see what the difficulty was,” the prosecutor stated.
On June 30, 2022, the jury discovered Mr Day responsible and convicted him on 34 of 47 prices. He was discovered not responsible of an additional 13 prices.
Mr Day was sentenced by Judge Gartelmann in November to 4 years in jail with a two-year, six-month non-parole interval.
He was additionally ordered to pay greater than $620,000 in restitution to Mr Sebastian.
The court docket was instructed he embezzled cash from performances, together with a tour with Taylor Swift and an ambassadorship with Dreamworld.
The jury heard a mountain of proof from witnesses, together with Mr Sebastian, his spouse Jules, bookkeepers and the police officer in command of the investigation.
Mr Day grew to become Mr Sebastian’s supervisor in 2009, however the pair had a bitter falling out in 2017.
Following the separation, Mr Sebastian claimed he discovered anomalies in his monetary information and launched authorized motion towards his former supervisor to recoup the cash he claimed he was owed.
Mr Day responded with a counterclaim, alleging it was he who was owed cash by Mr Sebastian – a declare the truth TV present choose denied.
Both males continued to argue the opposite owed them cash all through the heated trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court.
The jury discovered Mr Day had used a few of the cash owed to Mr Sebastian – together with about $187,000 from a Taylor Swift help act gig – to buy shares on his behalf in an organization known as My Medical Records. The court docket was instructed Mr Day sat on the board of the corporate on the time.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
