Accountant fleeced music icons of huge sums to fund gambling habit

He rubbed shoulders with some of Australia’s most successful musicians, and many called him a friend, but accountant Damien Luscombe was stealing their money to fund his online gambling addiction.

Senior music industry accountant Damien Luscombe stole more than $2.1m from performers.

When an employee at music accounting firm White Sky noticed a suspicious transaction from the account of their client, Gotye, he raised it with his boss Damien Luscombe.

“I’ve sorted mate — I can fill you in later,” Luscombe replied.

But another fraudulent transaction was uncovered and taken to the firm’s managing director, unravelling a decade-long deception in which more than $2.1m was stolen from performers, including Angus & Julia Stone, Peking Duk, and several Melbourne hospitality businesses.

Luscombe, 38, rubbed shoulders with some of Australia’s most successful musicians and many called him a friend, but behind their backs he was altering their invoices to include his own bank details and creating fake client emails requesting loans, bonuses and royalties.

The offending began in 2011 and spanned 11 years from when he was junior accountant to a senior manager with the stolen money used to fund his online gambling addiction.

Wearing a grey prison-issued tracksuit Luscombe, a former partner at the Collingwood-based firm, sat silently in the dock of the County Court on Wednesday as he was sentenced to six years’ behind bars.

Angus and Julia Stone were among the entertainers targeted by Luscombe. Picture: Getty Images

“You knew what you were doing was wrong and you went to great lengths to hide it,” Judge George Georgiou said during his sentencing remarks.

“You engaged in an elaborate and carefully planned fraud on your employer and clients.

“While gambling might explain your offending, it provides no excuse.”

Luscombe began stealing from his clients less than a year after he joined the firm, with his offending becoming more brazen as his gambling turned into a daily addiction.

He embezzled $18,000 in 2011 but that sum had increased to more than $500,000 in 2022, with a total $2,166,036 stolen from nine hospitality or entertainment businesses and five musicians.

Luscombe created at least 337 false documents and made 239 fraudulent transactions enabling him to steal $625,000 from Peking Duk, $495,000 from Gotye and $40,000 from Angus & Julia Stone.

He also stole from businesses including Mr. Miyagi, Sister Bella and Ponyfish Island bar, which struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gotye says the theft caused him stress but he forgave Luscombe.

Most of the money was gambled online through companies like Sportsbet, BetEasy and William Hill.

After the discovery of two suspicious transactions in October 2022, Luscombe was called into a meeting with the company and its lawyers, where he confessed.

He read a letter of confession to police after he was charged saying he was “deeply embarrassed and ashamed”.

“If I had the means I would repay every cent immediately to try and reverse some of the damage that I’ve caused,” he said.

In deposition statements Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles from Peking Duk described feeling “utterly betrayed and insulted” after they were “robbed blind”.

“I am admittedly impressed with the sheer volume of it,” Mr Styles said.

“It’s quite a ballsy move, like one that you might see in a movie.”

Peking Duk’s Reuben Styles says the band felt ‘utterly betrayed and insulted’. Picture: Brendan Read

Wouter “Wally” De Backer, known by his stage name Gotye, said the theft had caused him stress but he forgave Luscombe and hoped he could “find more interesting and productive things to do in the future”.

Judge Georgiou noted Luscombe had sought help for his gambling addiction after he was convicted for similar offending in 2010.

The court heard he maintained the support of his family and was receiving treatment for his gambling addiction while on bail.

Luscombe, who pleaded guilty to a dozen charges including obtaining financial advantage by deception and making a false document, will serve at least three years and nine months in jail before he is eligible for parole.