One of Guy Sebastian’s closest friends and longtime manager has been found guilty of stealing money from the Australian Idol champion.
After nearly a week of deliberation, the jury found Titus Day guilty of more than 30 of the 47 offenses he was facing at a New South Wales District Court trial.
Day, who is currently free on bail, was earlier found not guilty of three felonies after being accused of robbing the pop artist of about $900,000.
The original judge, Peter Zahra, had passed away, five of the panel’s fifteen jurors had been dismissed, and Sebastian had contracted COVID-19, among other problems.
Jurors were made aware of the enormous sums Sebastian was compensated for performances, including the $494,360 he received to assist Taylor Swift on her “The Red Tourfour-city “‘s Australian leg in December 2013.
Sebastian billed $54,341 for his performance at a Jakarta wedding in July 2017, while McDonald’s paid him $66,000 to perform at a conference in September of the same year.
The singer also received $49,114.62 for performing at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium in 2013’s British and Irish Lions rugby trip.
Sebastian testified that as part of “contra” agreements with big corporations, he had received a boat, international airfare, and the use of two Toyota LandCruisers for himself and his wife in lieu of financial payment.
Up until November 2017, when the singer ended their relationship amicably, Day handled Sebastian for around ten years.
The artist filed a legal lawsuit against Sebastian in July 2018 after Sebastian discovered “anomalies” in bank records that indicated Day still owed him money, according to testimony given in court.
Sebastian later reported the incident to the police, which led to the trial where each men claimed the other owed them money.
Day is accused of embezzling money totaling $361.34 in royalties and $187,524 in performance fees. An ambassadorship for $21,000 was one of the charges.
On June 9, when the prosecution acknowledged Day had no case to answer to the three accusations of embezzlement, Judge Tim Gartelmann directed the jury to deliver not guilty verdicts.
In those accusations, Day was accused of embezzling royalties of $13,380.60, $936, and $361.34 between 2014 and 2020.
Following the conclusion of the prosecution’s case, defense attorney Dominic Toomey SC requested an acquittal. Crown attorney David Morters SC agreed after acknowledging there was no evidence.
Judge Gartelmann stated, “There was just no evidence at all that the accused did the deed alleged to constitute any of these offenses.”
Day must also be cleared of the related back-up accusation of the lesser crime of theft if the jury finds him not guilty on any of the remaining 47 charges, according to Judge Gartelmann.
Day did not testify at the trial.
Judge Gartelmann informed the jury that “the accused exercised a right to silence in declining to do so.” He was under no duty to present or even call any witnesses.
“The accused need make no proof whatsoever…” He cannot be held accountable in any way for the fact that he did not call or present any evidence. Nothing can be inferred from it.
Day, who was due a 20% commission on Sebastian’s earnings, retained money put into his account that ought to have been passed to the singer, according to Mr. Morters, who testified before the jury.
In his final address, Mr. Morters stated, “It is evident from the financial records you have that he distributed these assets in a manner which was inconsistent with the interests of Mr. Sebastian.”
He stole that money from Mr. Sebastian, in essence. He never made the required payment; instead, he spent the money for other things.
However, Mr. Toomey asserted that his client had a defense to each and every accusation, and he speculated that Sebastian’s high profile may have tempted the authorities.
Day claimed to have unpaid fees from the chart-topper totaling $1.2 million.
Why is he not being arrested for fraud and failing to pay me commissions? Day claimed that he catered to the jury in the July 2020 interview. “I don’t get it,” you say.
After the jury returned their judgments, Mr. Morters unsuccessfully requested that Day’s bail be revoked, warning Judge Gartelmann that convictions would probably result in a jail sentence.
The session was suspended till Friday am by Judge Gartelmann.