Guy Sebastian’s former agent has been accused of embezzling $900k from the Australian Musician. The trial against Mr Day has been put on hold when Judge Peter Zahra, the Judge presiding over the case became unwell with an unspecified illness and was unable to attend court for two days.
Mr. Day, 50, who managed the singer for around ten years has pleaded not guilty to 50 counts of fraudulently embezzling royalty, performance, and ambassador payments that were supposed to go to Mr Sebastian. He has also vehemently denied an alternative 50 counts of larceny or stealing.
The trial commenced on Tuesday. The singer began to give his evidence on Wednesday, alleging his former manager promised him a stake in his company after becoming the foundation client before he stole almost $900k from him.
Crown Prosecutor David Morters SC made allegations that Mr Day, who managed Mr. Sebastian via his company 6 Degrees between 2009 and 2017 embezzled the money between 2013 and 2020. He told the court there were “shortfalls” in the amount of money transferred to Mr Sebastian, including the money he never received for being the support act for Taylor Swift on her Australian tour in December 2013.
Mr Day’s barrister Dominic Toomey SC has responded to the claims by suggesting his client has an answer to every one of the charges and said that the singer’s high profile may have seduced the authorities.
“You may wonder whether authorities or even police were wilfully blind… seduced by Mr Sebastian’s high profile,” Mr Toomey told the court yesterday.
The trial was scheduled to resume on Thursday, with Mr Sebastian to return to the witness box. But with the Judge unable to be there, the trial was set to resume on Monday.
A social media post on Thursday afternoon revealed the singer had tested positive for COVID-19. “I am so sorry to disappoint my fans and I promise to do something even more special once I’m able to perform as a thank-you for your patience and understanding,” Mr Sebastian said.
With the singer now also unwell, it has an impact on his national tour, with shows in Townsville and Cairns originally scheduled for next week, needing to be postponed. Ticket holders will be notified of the new dates soon.
“Touring in these times is certainly challenging,” Said Tim McGregor, Tour Managing Director, “We look forward to getting the show back on the road as soon as possible.”
At the moment, all other shows will go ahead as scheduled. The national tour will recommence on May 13th on the Gold Coast.
It is unclear when the court case will resume at this time.
