A glamorous Australian singer has offered a glowing reference for a star supervisor who embezzled greater than $600,000 of Guy Sebastian’s earnings, a courtroom has been informed.
Titus Day is because of be 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.
During a sentencing listening to on Friday, the courtroom was informed Tina Arena was certainly one of many individuals who had offered a reference for Day’s good standing in the neighborhood.
Defence barrister Dominic Toomey stated the ARIA-winning musician had signed a administration settlement with him due to his “honesty and integrity” and extended success within the trade.
“This one speaks volumes for the simple reason that Ms Arena did not come to retain the services of Mr Day until after he had been accused of the offence which were the subject of this trial,” Mr Toomey stated.
“She goes on to say, keeping in mind in course that Mr Day has now managed Ms Arena’s talent affairs for in excess of two years, that she trusts him implicitly and judges him to be a person of unquestionably good character.”
The courtroom was informed Day was already planning to attraction the choice of the jury on “a number of bases”, certainly one of which was “serious prosecutorial misconduct”.
A District Court jury discovered Day, 49, responsible on 34 of 47 counts of embezzlement earlier this 12 months.
The Crown contended he embezzled greater than $620,000 allegedly owed to Mr Sebastian within the type of music royalties, efficiency charges and ambassador funds.
Day was Mr Sebastian’s supervisor in 2009 however the pair had a bitter falling out in 2017.
Mr Sebastian claimed he then found anomalies in his monetary information, resulting in authorized motion towards Day in an try to recoup the cash.
During the trial, the courtroom was informed Day used a number of the cash owed to Mr Sebastian to buy shares, on his behalf, in an organization referred to as My Medical Records.
Day was acquitted of embezzling $39,000 from a British and Irish Lions rugby tour efficiency and different sums of cash starting from $6000 to $39,000 and $125,000.
On Friday, the courtroom was informed Day’s case was “a long way” from typical embezzlement issues the place cash was used for direct advantages.
The courtroom was informed the convictions would trigger ongoing reputational advantages to Day and his “future commercial projects”.
Mr Toomey additionally disputed assertions Day had proven no regret.
He stated an intensive corrections order can be an acceptable sentence, as Day posed “no risk” to the neighborhood.
But Crown prosecutor David Morters stated Day got here from a “privileged background” that undermined assertions that his good character ought to issue into the decide’s sentencing.
He stated the embezzlement was for a “significant” sum of money over no less than three years.
“It was only detected after documents were retrieved, on subpoena, by Mr Sebastian,” Mr Morters stated.
“It was difficult to discover.
“An intentional appeal should not have been subject to submissions.”
Day shall be formally sentenced on November 17.
