Latest news with #6Degrees
Perth Now
04-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Major update in pop star's court case
A jury has retired to consider its verdicts in the trial of Guy Sebastian's former manager Titus Day who is alleged to have embezzled over $600,000 from his former client. For the last month, Mr Day has stood trial in the NSW District Court in Sydney where he has battled allegations that he stole from his former friend and the one-time Australian Idol winner. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant. It's alleged that Mr Day failed to remit over $620,000 in performance fees and royalties to Mr Sebastian that were collected by his 6 Degrees talent agency. It is alleged he embezzled performance fees, including $187,000 for supporting Taylor Swift on her 2013 tour of Australia, as well as for private weddings, a Big Bash cricket game and corporate events. He has also pleaded not guilty to one count of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, relating to allegations he deceived the liquidator after his company was placed into liquidation. Titus Day pictured as he arrives at Downing Centre courts in Sydney. NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: News Corp Australia During his closing address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC said Mr Day had fabricated invoices to deceive Mr Sebastian. 'The fact that he went to the trouble to create these invoices that were not accurate shows that he knew that he had not honestly accounted to Mr Sebastian for the relevant transactions at the time – that he fraudulently embezzled the money,' Mr Hatfield told the court. 'And that was the reason why he would have done what he did in creating these documents to account for the transactions retrospectively.' Mr Day, through his defence, has claimed that he failed to remit some of the money to Mr Sebastian because of an accounting error and a mistaken belief that the income related to another client. Guy Sebastian leaves the Downing Centre Court. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia He has further claimed he believed he was entitled to hold onto other funds because of unpaid commissions and that he used other money to invest in shares for Mr Sebastian. 'Whenever Mr Day held onto money that had come into the 6 Degrees account, he did it believing he was entitled to do so,' Mr Day's barrister Thomas Woods told the jury in his closing address. 'He is not guilty of any offence of embezzlement.' The court has been told that Mr Day says some accounting errors were the result of family difficulties at the time which resulted in his attention being elsewhere The trial concluded on Wednesday at the conclusion of closing arguments from Mr Day's defence. Following Judge Alister Abadee's summing up on Friday, the jury retired to consider its verdicts on the 35 counts.
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Major update in pop star's court case: Jury retired to consider verdict
A jury has retired to consider its verdicts in the trial of Guy Sebastian's former manager Titus Day who is alleged to have embezzled over $600,000 from his former client. For the last month, Mr Day has stood trial in the NSW District Court in Sydney where he has battled allegations that he stole from his former friend and the one-time Australian Idol winner. He has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant. It's alleged that Mr Day failed to remit over $620,000 in performance fees and royalties to Mr Sebastian that were collected by his 6 Degrees talent agency. It is alleged he embezzled performance fees, including $187,000 for supporting Taylor Swift on her 2013 tour of Australia, as well as for private weddings, a Big Bash cricket game and corporate events. He has also pleaded not guilty to one count of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, relating to allegations he deceived the liquidator after his company was placed into liquidation. During his closing address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC said Mr Day had fabricated invoices to deceive Mr Sebastian. 'The fact that he went to the trouble to create these invoices that were not accurate shows that he knew that he had not honestly accounted to Mr Sebastian for the relevant transactions at the time – that he fraudulently embezzled the money,' Mr Hatfield told the court. 'And that was the reason why he would have done what he did in creating these documents to account for the transactions retrospectively.' Mr Day, through his defence, has claimed that he failed to remit some of the money to Mr Sebastian because of an accounting error and a mistaken belief that the income related to another client. He has further claimed he believed he was entitled to hold onto other funds because of unpaid commissions and that he used other money to invest in shares for Mr Sebastian. 'Whenever Mr Day held onto money that had come into the 6 Degrees account, he did it believing he was entitled to do so,' Mr Day's barrister Thomas Woods told the jury in his closing address. 'He is not guilty of any offence of embezzlement.' The court has been told that Mr Day says some accounting errors were the result of family difficulties at the time which resulted in his attention being elsewhere The trial concluded on Wednesday at the conclusion of closing arguments from Mr Day's defence. verdicts on the 35 counts.
News.com.au
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Guy Sebastian's manager responds to Taylor Swift claim
Guy Sebastian's manager has denied that he embezzled $187,000 earnt by his client for supporting American superstar Taylor Swift, with a court told he claimed he invested it in shares on the pop star's behalf. Titus Emanuel Day is standing trial in the NSW District Court in Sydney where he has denied embezzling more than $600,000 in royalties and performance fees from the Australian Idol winner. Mr Day's trial has entered its final stages, with his barrister telling the court during his closing submissions that the manager had made accounting errors, withheld money for what he claimed were unpaid commissions owed to him by Mr Sebastian and invested other money for his client. The former high-profile manager has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant. He has also pleaded not guilty to one count of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception relating to allegations he lied to liquidators after his management company, 6 Degrees, became insolvent. 'It is not implausible that my client made a wrong assumption in relation to these counts in the indictment … That he made a mistake is not fanciful or far fetched,' Mr Day's barrister Thomas Woods told the jury on Wednesday. It has now been more than five years since Mr Day was arrested at his Sydney home. Mr Woods told the court that Mr Sebastian did not complain to police until 2020 despite some of the allegations relating to work done in 2013. One of the charges relates to allegations that Mr Day embezzled $187,000 in performance fees earnt by Mr Sebastian as a support act on Taylor Swift's 2013 tour of Australia. He is also alleged to have embezzled money from private performances and corporate gigs in Singapore and Sydney in 2014. 'A substantial source of your doubt on these counts would be that Mr Sebastian did not complain about Mr Day stealing or embezzling this money – almost $300,000 in total – until mid 2020,' Mr Woods said. 'You know these counts relate to events in 2013 and 2014. You might think that's a significant delay. 'Mr Sebastian accepted in his evidence that he never complained about the asserted non-payment of the monies until 2020 … Mr Sebastian said 'I had no idea they were missing'.' 'You might think if all this money truly was missing, it wouldn't have taken the better part of a decade for Mr Sebastian to make a complaint.' Mr Woods previously told the court that performance fees from the Swift tour were used to purchase shares on Mr Sebastian's behalf. Mr Sebastian, in his evidence, described the claims as 'completely fabricated'. Mr Woods said the investment wasn't 'successful' and there was a theme of Mr Day not always 'picking a winner'. 'However disappointing it must have been for everyone who invested in the company, the question for you to decide is whether the Crown has proven beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Day embezzled those monies,' Mr Woods said. 'And you might think he can't have embezzled those monies if he invested in a company on Mr Sebastian's behalf.' During his closing address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC alleged that Mr Day had fabricated invoices to demand payment from Mr Sebastian. Mr Hatfield said Mr Day had displayed a 'consciousness of guilt' by falsifying the invoices. However Mr Woods argued that evidence of that was 'feeble'. He said the allegations rested on an email from 12 years ago that Mr Sebastian said he had not received.
Perth Now
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Guy Sebastian's manager to learn fate
Guy Sebastian's ex-manager Titus Day will in the coming days learn his fate over allegations he embezzled over $600,000 from the pop star, as a court was told there was 'not a shred of evidence' to support counter claims the singer had withheld money from his former friend. Mr Sebastian's former manager Titus Day is standing trial in the NSW District Court, accused of embezzling performance fees and royalties from the Australian Idol winner. Mr Day has denied doing anything dishonest or fraudulent, and has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant and one count of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception. His trial has entered its closing stages with Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC beginning his closing address to the jury on Monday. In the coming days, the jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict following a month-long trial. One of the charges relates to an allegation that Mr Day failed to remit $187,000 to Mr Sebastian for performance fees as a support act for Taylor Swift on her 2013 tour of Australia. Titus Day. NewsWire/Simon Bullard. Credit: News Corp Australia Guy Sebastian. NewsWire/Nikki Short. Credit: News Corp Australia Other charges relate to performances at private weddings, corporate gigs, cricket matches and for overseas royalties for Mr Sebastian's hit 'Battle Scars', his duet with US rapper Lupe Fiasco which helped him break into the American market for the first time. The court has heard that Mr Sebastian first became involved with Mr Day when he joined 22 Management early in his career. However he later followed Mr Day when he started his own management company, 6 Degrees. The court has been told that their relationship began to deteriorate over time after Mr Sebastian found what he alleged were irregularities in his financial records. Their personal and professional relationship soured and ended with the pair making claims that the other owed them money. The court has been told that in 2018 Mr Sebastian filed proceedings against Mr Day in the Federal Court, which prompted his former manager and 6 Degrees to file a counterclaim During his closing address, Mr Hatfield took the jury to sections of Mr Day's evidence in which he told the court that 'Guy has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars of mine without telling me' and that he was keeping money that was owed to him. Mr Sebastian has not been charged with any offence, nor has he been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Mr Hatfield told the jury there was 'not a shred of evidence' to suggest the pop star had withheld commissions owing to his manager. Titus Day and Guy Sebastian before their split. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia 'Absolutely no evidence Mr Sebastian had concealed anything,' Mr Hatfield said. 'It was not put to him that he had concealed anything.' Mr Hatfield said that Mr Day was not entitled to withdraw money from the 6 Degrees Trust Account into which Mr Sebastian's income was paid. 'The accused, who told you he was admitted as a lawyer, you might think would know perfectly well that trust funds are to be kept separate from his business and personal funds and he was obliged to account to the beneficiary, Mr Sebastian, for them,' Mr Hatfield said. 'His assertions about his rights to use the money how he pleased, and his common practice of taking money when he needed it for cash flow purposes, should not deflect you in your judgments about what the accused must have known and his state of mind in relation to it.' Mr Day's barrister Thomas Woods previously told the court that while Mr Day had 'on some occasions' failed to transfer money to Mr Sebastian, he denied doing anything criminal. The trial will continue on Tuesday, with closing submissions from Mr Woods still to come.
Perth Now
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Reason behind accounting ‘mistakes'
Guy Sebastian's former manager 'made mistakes' in accounting towards the end of the pair's tumultuous relationship because his mother had become ill, the period marking the 'hardest time in (his) life'. Titus Emanuel Day is standing trial for allegedly embezzling $640,000 of Mr Sebastian's royalties and performance fees, including the alleged failure to remit $187,000 to Mr Sebastian for performance fees as a support act for Swift on her 2013 Red tour of Australia and other corporate gigs and performances. Mr Day has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of embezzlement as a clerk or servant and one count of attempting to dishonestly obtain financial advantage by deception. He has denied doing anything fraudulent or dishonest. Mr Day took the stand to give evidence-in-chief on Friday, telling the court how issues had begun to 'creep in' to his management company, 6 Degrees, as a result of pressure sparked by his mother's declining health around 2016. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JUNE 4, 2025. Titus Day (C) arrives at the Downing Centre Court on Wednesday. Guy Sebastianí•s former manager Titus Day is standing trial on allegations he embezzled money from the pop star. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire - 05 JUNE 2025: Guy Sebastian leaves the Downing Centre in Sydney. Christian Gilles / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia He told the court his mother was diagnosed with advanced Alzheimer's dementia around 2015. By the time she came to live with he and his family in 2016 she was so ill she was in a 'zombie state', prompting his wife, Courtney, to effectively step aside from her work at the company to care for his mother. The court was told his wife played a 'critical' role at 6 Degrees, with her duties ranging across creative work such as video clips, music production, songwriting production and dealing with record labels: when she left, Mr Day had to 'pick up all the slack' and delegate work to other staff. Another high level employee also had to step aside to care for Mr Day's mother at one point. 'Personally this was probably the hardest time in my life,' Mr Day told the court. He said all of his clients 'suffered' as a result, and that he'd made some accounting 'mistakes' during this period and could no longer be with clients on tours. 'Because my attention was taken away, but also spread thin, it affected all my clients - all my clients suffered,' Mr Day told the court. 'My accounting slipped, I wasn't able to send statements or invoices…I made mistakes in transactions and banking descriptions.' He spoke of one example where he accidentally paid Mr Sebastian money from another of his clients, Nigerian-Australian singer Timomatic, and then paid Timomatic money from Mr Sebastian. Titus Day told the court issues began to 'creep in' to his management company, 6 Degrees, as a result of pressure sparked by his mother's declining health. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia '(I) made a lot of mistakes on banking descriptions…a lot of issues started to creep into the company because of the pressure,' Mr Day said. Mr Day's barrister, Thomas Woods, earlier told the court that there would be 'no dispute' that on some occasions his client should have transferred money onto Mr Sebastian 'but did not'. 'For many of the charges, the real question is not going to be whether my client failed to transfer the money to Sebastian but whether his failure to do that was criminal,' Mr Woods said. The former manager's evidence-in-chief regarding the 'mistakes' mentioned on Friday is expected to continue next week. Mr Day has denied doing anything fraudulent or dishonest. In terms of business growth, Mr Day told the court 2016 was the company's busiest and most successful time, having taken on a range of clients across music, sports and media. He said it was an 'extremely busy' time and he was personally receiving more than 300 emails per day, acknowledging he had 'a lot less' time to devote to Mr Sebastian as opposed to the early years of their agreement. Guy Sebastian arrives at the Downing Centre Court. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia The 'really big shift' in the pair's relationship Mr Sebastian moved over to Mr Day's management company 6 Degrees three years after winning Australian Idol, having worked with him previously at Mr Day's former agency, 22 Management. No formal agreement was signed, but the court was told their agreement was based on Mr Sebastian's former arrangement with 22 Management. The Battle Scars singer, who was once so close with Mr Day he considered them to be a 'a family of sorts', earlier claimed he'd sent several emails to Mr Day around 2016 over concerns with their relationship, telling the court there was a 'really big shift' between them around that time. In particular Mr Sebastian claimed documents, statements and invoices 'were not being sent anymore'. 'That side of it and then some cultural issues that were happening as well and just a general shift in the service I was being provided,' Mr Sebastian previously told the court. 'I understand (6 Degrees) were getting busier as a company and that the list of clients had grown … that was starting to have some real ramifications on my business and personally as well. 'I was trying really hard to remedy these issues.' Mr Sebastian told Mr Day that he was leaving his management in 2017, the court was previously told. Mr Sebastian launched Federal Court proceedings against Mr Day the following year. He in turn filed a counterclaim.
