Suburban cricketer defrauded company for $250k to recruit high-profile stars

Doncaster man Navishta Desilva has admitted defrauding his employer of almost $250,000 to recruit high-profile cricket stars to a suburban competition.

Navishta DeSilva defrauded his employer of nearly $250,000.

A suburban Melbourne cricketer who dreamt of playing professionally has admitted defrauding his employer of nearly $250,000 to lure international players to local competitions.

For more than a year Navishta Desilva, 36, from Doncaster, falsified tax invoices and purchase orders for his employer Omni Vision, an electronic security company in Mulgrave, purportedly from supplier CCTV Masters.

Desilva, who once played cricket for the Sri Lankan under-15s national side, instead funnelled money into his own bank accounts to fund his company, Global Talent Entertainment, which paid 10 international cricket stars to play in local cricket competitions.

The company hosted the Twilight T20 Carnival exhibition series at Shepley Oval in Dandenong in November last year.

The event promoted international guest players, including Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Dawid Malan, Shoaib Malik, Dimuth Karunarathne and Lahiru Thirimanne, though police later confirmed none of the players took part and the event was cancelled on its second day.

The County Court on Friday heard Desilva made 18 fraudulent transactions in amounts between $2700 and $36,407 over a 16-month period between March 2021 and July last year.

In addition to funding his company, Desilva made several high end purchases from Louis Vuitton and on holidays, transferred money to his fiancee and withdrew cash.

Desilva managed to lure some high-profile stars to the competition. Picture: Nicki Connolly

But it all came unstuck as he landed himself in hot water. Picture: Nicki Connolly

The court heard $37,250 was paid to Vito DD Cricket, a premium cricket brand supplier owned by former Sri Lankan captain Tillakaratne Dilshan, and nearly $30,000 was paid to other players associated with Global Talent Entertainment.

In a meeting with management about account discrepancies, Desilva admitted his offending and promised to repay $189,125 — the agreed loss as some of the fraudulent purchase orders were fulfilled.

Sam Norton, for Desilva, told the pre-sentence hearing his client was working two jobs six days a week and had since repaid his former employer.

Mr Norton said Desilva was a talented cricketer who had played for the Sri Lankan under-15s national side but was unable to pursue a professional career due to financial constraints.

He relocated to Australia and worked at a petrol station and as an auditor for accounting firm Deloitte before he found a passion for event promotion while working as a DJ at Crown.

The court heard Desilva established Global Talent Entertainment but struggled with funding.

“The arrangement in terms of funding from sponsors and so on, simply didn’t come through,” Mr Norton said.

“Rather than call it off and back away, Mr Desilva makes the decision that he makes, and it’s within that context that the offending commences.”

Desilva will be sentenced on October 30. Picture: Nicky Connolly

A psychological assessment found Desilva was fuelled by insecurity and feelings of inadequacy following a previous business failure, Mr Norton said.

The lawyer pushed for a non-custodial sentence, highlighting his client had repaid the money and entered an early guilty plea.

But judge David Brookes said without mitigating factors Desilva would be looking at years in jail.

“This type of offending is devious and prolonged, it’s over sixteen months,” he said.

“It’s quite complicated … he’s spent three years at Deloitte doing auditing. He’s got skills, this gentleman, and he’s employed them in a bad way.”

Desilva also has a prior 2011 conviction for stealing from a petrol station he worked at.

Judge Brookes ordered Desilva, who pleaded guilty to obtaining financial advantage by deception, be assessed for a community correction order.

He is on bail and will be sentenced on October 30.