Guy Sebastian’s court showdown with ex-manager Titus Day nears conclusion

An alleged motive in the embezzlement trial of Guy Sebastian’s former manager has been aired in court.

Guy Sebastian’s ex-manager allegedly withheld thousands Taylor Swift paid the Aussie pop star so it could be invested in a failing medical records company he had a financial stake in, a court has been told.

Titus Day has pleaded not guilty to 50 counts of fraudulently embezzling almost $900,000 that was allegedly owed to the former Australian Idol star and reality television judge.

Last week, a NSW District Court jury was directed to deliver not guilty verdicts in relation to three of the 50 charges because there was no evidence to suggest Mr Day embezzled the funds – about $14,600 – specified in those counts.

Guy Sebastian claims he is a fraud victim. Picture NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

In his closing address to the jury on Tuesday, Crown prosecutor David Morters SC defended his handling of the case.

“The fact there was a combination of payments that was not identified by Mr Sebastian or the (police) officer in charge or the prosecution is not a matter that demonstrates ineptitude,” he told the jury.

“The charges were rightfully dismissed, but that does not reflect the validity of the remaining 47 charges.

“There are a lot of threads to connect from all the evidence you have received.”

Mr Morters said Mr Sebastian was “an honest and open witness who did his utmost best to relay accurate information”.

The court was told while there was no management contract signed between Mr Sebastian and Mr Day, there was an agreement in place that required Mr Day to pay Mr Sebastian 80 per cent of gross income he collected on the singer’s behalf within 14 days of the income being received.

Titus Day and Guy Sebastian in happier times. Picture: Supplied

Mr Morters said the agreement mirrored an agreement Mr Sebastian had with his former management company 22 Management and it did not include a clause that allowed Mr Day to claim a stake on future income – known as trailing commissions – generated by Mr Sebastian after any agreement ended.

The court was told while Mr Sebastian was winding up his agreement with 22, Mr Day sent an email to Mr Sebastian’s bookkeeper saying there were “no other obligations to 22 other than publishing commissions”.

During the trial, the court has been told Mr Day claims Mr Sebastian owes him money – a claim Mr Sebastian denies.

Mr Morters told jurors there was a table of transaction data that showed multiple examples of money owed to Mr Sebastian coming into Mr Day’s 6 Degrees business account and not going out in the correct amounts, or at all, to Mr Sebastian’s bank account.

Jules Sebastian was paid money owed to her husband, a court has been told. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

An $8000 royalty payment from a company called Premier Muzik was paid to Mr Day in 2015 and he used $6403 of it to pay money owed to Mr Sebastian’s wife Jules for an ambassador role she performed for a company called Playkids, Mr Morters said.

“That money was Guy Sebastian’s money – nobody else’s,” Mr Morters said.

“That is clearly an embezzlement of moneys that he (Mr Day) should have paid to Mr Sebastian.”

Titus Day and Guy Sebastian had a bitter falling out. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

In total, Mr Day allegedly owed Mr Sebastian about $882,000, Mr Morters told the jury.

After 6 Degrees went into liquidation in 2019, the court was told that Mr Day was denied access to his bank accounts, but he could still see transaction data.

When Premier Muzik transferred about $15,000 in royalty payments into the 6 Degrees account for Mr Sebastian, Mr Day contacted the liquidator and said the money belonged to his other client, former X Factor and Voice contestant Matt Gresham.

Mr Morters said Mr Day asked liquidators to transfer the money to a bank account in the name of his other company Trigger Records.

Mr Day was later forced to pay $11,000 back to the liquidator after he said a “reconciliation oversight” meant the money was not paid out properly.

Guy Sebastian was a support act for American pop star Taylor Swift during her Australian tour. Picture: Tait Schmaal

The jury was told a claim by Mr Day, that he used money Mr Sebastian was paid — for performing as American pop star Taylor Swift’s support act during her 2013 Australian tour — to purchase shares for Mr Sebastian in a company called My Medical Records (MMR), was not accurate.

Mr Morters said Mr Sebastian should have been paid about $435,000 of the $494,000 Taylor Swift offered him to perform in four shows, but instead Mr Day passed on about $247,000 which left “a deficiency” of about $187,000.

The court was told Mr Day claimed Mr Sebastian asked him to buy shares in MMR, which he did using the Taylor Swift concert proceeds.

Mr Sebastian denies the claim and Mr Morters told the jury if Mr Day was to be believed, it would have meant Mr Sebastian was overpaid and “given $100,000 more than he was entitled to for that specific tour”.

Guy Sebastian’s Madness tour raked in $1.9 million.

MMR was not performing well financially and Mr Morters said any funnelling of Mr Sebastian’s money into the company was “more about protecting the accused’s investments”.

“The accused was on the board of MMR,” Mr Morters said.

“He clearly had a personal interest in maintaining an investment flow into that company”.

The court was told Mr Sebastian’s former book keepers Dorcas Kemp and Margot Kennedy asked Mr Day to provide information about the Taylor Swift payments, but Mr Morters said he was repeatedly “delaying, obfuscating and avoiding providing an answer”.

Mr Morters said Mr Day was “dishonest” and allegedly withheld a further $125,000 owed to Mr Sebastian after he raked in $1.9 million for his Madness tour.

Mr Day’s claim that money had been withheld because it was commission on Mr Sebastian’s contra, a term used to describe in-kind gifts given instead of cash payments, was also repudiated by Mr Morters who said no agreement for commission on contra was in place and it was something Mr Day had “come up with years later to justify his actions”.

The trial continues, with Mr Day’s barrister Dominic Toomey SC due to give his closing address on Wednesday.

Originally published as Guy Sebastian’s court showdown with ex-manager Titus Day nears conclusion