By Georgina Mitchell and Sarah McPhee
Celebrity manager Titus Day has been jailed for at least 2½ years for embezzling more than $600,000 of singer Guy Sebastian’s money, including earnings for being a support act for US pop star Taylor Swift.
Day, 49, was found guilty by a jury in June of 34 counts of embezzlement, totalling $624,675, relating to earnings that should have been transferred to Sebastian’s bank accounts between 2013 and 2020.
Titus Day arrives at the Downing Centre on Thursday.Credit: Brook Mitchell
Sebastian, the inaugural winner of Australian Idol, was managed by Day at agency 22 Management from 2007. He joined Day’s company 6 Degrees as his marquee client in 2009 before their relationship reached an acrimonious end in 2017.
The pair were engaged in Federal Court civil proceedings when Day was arrested at his Bondi home in 2020.
Judge Timothy Gartelmann, in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Thursday afternoon, jailed Day for a maximum of four years with a non-parole period of 2½ years.
Day sat silently in the public gallery and did not react visibly as the sentence was handed down. A court staffer asked Corrective Services officers to give him two minutes, and Day hugged and kissed his supporters before being handcuffed and led away.
Day, pictured on Thursday, is the former manager of Guy Sebastian.Credit: Dean Sewell
Gartelmann said Day’s misappropriation of $187,524, relating to Sebastian’s support of Taylor Swift in 2013, was in the medium to high range of seriousness and would have warranted a sentence of 18 months on its own.
He said Day had no criminal record, and was unlikely to commit another crime in the future, but noted the offences were ongoing and involved a breach of trust.
“There is no evidence of remorse, as the offender maintains his innocence,” Gartelmann said.
The judge noted the effect of publicity in the case, which would most likely have an impact on Day’s business in the future, as well as affecting his experience in custody.
“His reputation has been damaged and will likely never be restored,” he said.
At Day’s sentencing hearing, his lawyers tendered “multiple glowing references from people of high standing” including Australian singer-songwriter Tina Arena. Defence barrister Dominic Toomey, SC, said Arena had signed a management agreement with Day after he was charged in 2020.
“She goes on to say, keeping in mind ... Mr Day has now managed Ms Arena’s talent affairs for in excess of two years, that she trusts him implicitly,” Toomey said of the testimonial.
Crown prosecutor David Morters, SC, said the offending was out of the range of a penalty that could be served in the community. Prosecutors had tried to have Day detained ahead of sentencing.
The jury acquitted Day on 16 embezzlement counts, including three as directed by the judge. Last month, Day’s lawyers indicated an intention to appeal against the jury’s 34 guilty verdicts on multiple bases including that they were “unreasonable” and some “plainly inconsistent”.
In an Instagram post after the verdicts against his former manager, Sebastian said he was grateful the “painful chapter” of his life was over.
Gartelmann made a compensation order for the amount of $624,675.
Day will be eligible for parole in May 2025, with his sentence expiring in November 2026.
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