Latest news with #BattleScars
News.com.au
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
‘Not a shred': Claim against pop star Guy Sebastian denied in trial against manager Titus Day
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. 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. '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.
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.
West Australian
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Titus Day trial: New details on Guy Sebastian's meeting with former manager as bitter dispute unfolded
Guy Sebastian's former manager claimed the pop star went on a 'monologue' about the manager's failures as the pair's relationship deteriorated into a bitter dispute, a court was told. Titus Emanuel Day is standing trial for allegedly embezzling $640,000 of Sebastian's royalties and performance fees, including the alleged failure to remit performance fees for his work supporting Taylor 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. 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 at 6 Degrees, but the court was told their agreement was based on Sebastian's former arrangement with 22 Management. The pair, once so close Sebastian considered them to be 'a family of sorts', experienced a 'really big shift' in their relationship by 2016, with Sebastian claiming documents, statements and invoices 'were not being sent anymore'. Having 'grievances' with his former manager, the court was told Sebastian met with Mr Day at a cafe towards the end of 2017. Mr Day's barrister, Thomas Woods, on Monday suggested Sebastian had spoken 'more or less continuously for half an hour' during the meeting, prompting Mr Day to say words to the effect of 'I'm willing to discuss the issues, but I'm not willing to sit here and listen to a monologue from you about all my failures'. 'I do not recall that, no,' Sebastian replied. The Battle Scars singer also denied suggestions he'd agreed to pay Mr Day commissions he was asking for if he could show they were payable as per his former agreement with 22 Management by way of a 'handshake agreement' at the 2017 meeting. 'Definitely not, no — you couldn't come up with a more completely opposite version of what happened in that meeting,' Sebastian said. 'The purpose of that meeting was I was actually trying to avoid being negative about it and trying to come to some kind of peaceful ending to everything where Titus would provide some accounting for what was missing.' The court was told Mr Day was pushing for commissions to be paid to him after the pair parted ways professionally, however Sebastian and his lawyer at the time maintained there were no post-term commission arrangements. Sebastian later told the court he was happy to pay commission for anything Mr Day had worked Woods earlier told the court that there would be 'no dispute' that on some occasions his client should have transferred money onto 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. Sebastian told Mr Day he was leaving his management in 2017, the court was previously told. Sebastian launched Federal Court proceedings against Mr Day the following year. He in turn filed a counterclaim.
West Australian
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- West Australian
Titus Day trial: Guy Sebastian reveals details of relationship breakdown between he and his former manager
Guy Sebastian has revealed new details in the relationship breakdown between he and his former manager, claiming invoices were not being sent and there was a 'really big shift' the year before the pop star left the company. Titus Emanuel Day is standing trial for allegedly embezzling $640,000 of Sebastian's royalties and performance fees. This includes the alleged failure to remit $187,000 to Sebastian for performance fees as a support act for Taylor Swift on her 2013 Red tour of Australia. It's alleged that Sebastian was also not paid for corporate gigs, performances at the Sydney Opera House, a Big Bash game and Dreamworld and for singing at weddings in Italy and Sydney. 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. Sebastian told the court on Thursday that he had sent several emails to Mr Day around 2016, setting out concerns with their relationship at the time. Mr Day was managing Sebastian under his company 6 Degrees at the time. The Battle Scars singer told the NSW District Court there was a 'really big shift' in the pair's relationship around that time, in particular claiming 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,' Sebastian 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.' Sebastian was asked about his deal with Dreamworld earlier on Thursday in which he had several duties over a period of a year or two with the theme park. This included a performance and recording a theme song, with the total deal worth about $96,000. Mr Day had negotiated the contract for him, and Sebastian agreed that his former manager was entitled to a commission. However, Sebastian claimed that he never received payment for his portion from the work with Dreamworld. The court was told Mr Day told the pop star 'I'm legally entitled to hold the Dreamworld money', claiming there were commissions owed by Sebastian to 6 Degrees. 'I do recall that, yes,' Sebastian told the court. 'And you disagreed with that treatment?' Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC asked him. 'My position was to be in line with our agreement, which I was not denying any commission, so there's no reason to hold money,' Sebastian said. 'I was prepared to stick to the terms to what we had always operated on …(I) saw no need to hold money, nor did I think it was appropriate to do so.' Sebastian later disagreed with Mr Day's barrister Thomas Woods, who suggested Mr Day had never stolen or embezzled his money. Mr Woods last week told the court that there would be 'no dispute' that on some occasions his client should have transferred money onto 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. Sebastian signed with Mr Day at his management company 6 Degrees three years after he won Australian Idol, having previously worked with him at Mr Day's former agency, 22 Management. Despite initially being happy with the arrangement, Sebastian and his team were often chasing statements and clarification on payments before he told Mr Day he was leaving his management in 2017, the court was previously told. Sebastian launched Federal Court proceedings against Mr Day the following year. He in turn filed a counterclaim. The trial continues.
Daily Mail
30-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Guy Sebastian to take stand in trial of ex-manager over embezzlement allegations
Guy Sebastian is set to take the stand in the trial of his former manager Titus Day who is defending a raft of embezzlement allegations. Day is currently standing trial in the NSW District Court to defend against claims he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties and performance fees from the Battle Scars hitmaker. He 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. The trial commenced on Thursday and Sebastian, 43, is expected to take to the stand in 'the coming days', The Australian reported on Friday. Sebastian was first managed by Day when he worked, as a senior client management executive for the 22 Management Agency, the jury was told on Thursday. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. In 2009, Day established his own agency, 6Degrees, where Sebastian became the 'marquee client'. It was alleged the pair's relationship began to sour after Sebastian discovered what he alleged to be irregularities in financial records. It was also claimed that Day, who worked on a 20 per cent commission of Sebastian's income after costs, failed to pay royalties and performance fees collected on the Australian Idol winner's behalf. The publication reported that one of the charges related to a claim that Day failed to pay Sebastian $187,000 - a performance fee for his support act slot on Taylor Swift's 2013 Australian tour. During the first day of Day's trial on Thursday, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC informed the court that Sebastian had placed a 'significant trust' in his manager, who then 'abused' that trust by embezzling his money. 'Through his role as Mr Sebastian's manager, and his capacity of collecting his money on behalf of Mr Sebastian, the accused is alleged to have embezzled Mr Sebastian's money and he's done that by collecting Mr Sebastian's money and failing to remit it in accordance with his agreement,' Hatfield said. 'Mr Sebastian will tell you that this agreement reposed significant trust in the accused and the Crown case is that the accused abused this trust by dishonestly embezzling Mr Sebastian's money.' Before the trial's commencement, Day spoke to about his ongoing, eight-year legal battle. 'I also just want it over,' he told the publication. Aside from Sebastian, Day has also managed a raft of high-profile clients including Grant Denyer, Sophie Monk, Tina Arena, and Stephanie Rice.
