Jury discharged in former AFL player Nick Stevens’ fraud trial

A judge has discharged the jury in the second week of Nick Stevens’ fraud trial, after revealing she had previously been involved in a prosecution against the former Carlton star.

Nick Stevens’ is accused of ripping off six families during an alleged swimming pool scam. Picture: David Caird

The jury in the fraud trial of former AFL player Nick Stevens has been discharged.

Stevens, who played more than 200 games for Port Adelaide and Carlton, was standing trial in the County Court accused of accepting more than $171,000 from six families in the Mildura area after allegedly promising to install swimming pools which were never built or left incomplete.

Stevens has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Judge Fran Dalziel discharged the jury in the second week of the trial last week, after revealing she had previously been involved in a prosecution against Stevens, 45, during her time as a Crown prosecutor.

She said she had to recuse herself to avoid any potential perception of bias, noting he had been found not guilty in the previous case.

He will face court again next February. Picture: David Caird

A new trial date was set for February next year.

Stevens was facing 18 fraud, deception and theft charges.

The jury was told Stevens was running his own landscaping business and accepted payments from six families to install swimming pools in 2017 and 2018.

But he allegedly failed to obtain building permits, insurance and contracts for the works.

Two families were allegedly left with “illegally and shoddily” installed pools – one of which was cracked, later removed, and reinstalled at another customer’s home.

Prosecutors alleged three others never had a pool installed, with two of those families left with giant holes in their backyards.