Australian musician Guy Sebastian has laughed to deny he had a “history of violence” after being asked if he threatened his former manager, who is accused of squandering nearly a million dollars on stars.
The 40-year-old star on Tuesday appeared in the New South Wales District Court on the last day of his testimony in the trial of his former manager Titas Day.
Mr. Day, 49, has pleaded not guilty to 50 counts of fraudulent embezzlement of about $ 900,000 in royalties, execution and payments to ambassadors allegedly imposed on Mr. Sebastian. He also denies 50 alternative articles on theft.
The couple worked together for eight years between 2009 and 2017, with Mr Day controlling the flow of finances through his company 6 Degrees.
When their relationship suffered a bitter rift, Mr Sebastian claimed to have found that the money owed to him was missing. He has filed a lawsuit against his former boss to get back the money he allegedly owed.
Mr Day responded with a counterclaim, claiming that Mr Sebastian owed the money to him, a claim denied by the former Australian Idol winner and reality show judge.
The court was told that Mr. Day had issued an arrest warrant against Mr. Sebastian in May 2020, allegedly out of fear for his safety.
Crown Attorney David Morters SC said Mr Day told police he and his wife had targeted Mr Sebastian, who he claimed was responsible for sending his wife threatening emails and puncturing the tires of his car.
“At 6pm on May 20, 2020, he called me from a locked room and said,“ Guy Sebastian wants you to fuck. They say it’s wrong, they say you’re a pedophile, ”Mr Morters read from Mr Day’s statement in an AVO statement to the court.
“The guy has a history of violence that I know of, and my wife is scared.”
Mr Sebastian laughed and told the court that he had not been involved in any of the alleged intimidation and had not asked anyone else to do so.
“Not even close,” the musician smiled when asked about his alleged history of violence.
The court was told that AVO’s application was withdrawn after Mr Day was asked to provide evidence. Mr Sebastian flatly rejected a proposal by defense attorney Dominic Tumi SC that he sought to “arm the criminal justice system” because he was concerned about the negative publicity of the AVO.
The first winner of the Australian Idol told the court that he turned to Mr Day and his wife when he found anomalies in his financial documents to try to settle the matter amicably.
“He was the one who refused to meet,” Mr Sebastian said.
“He did it on purpose. He could have accepted this meeting and could have told me what I hoped to hear – that he did not go for it on purpose. “
Mr Sebastian said he had approached a friendly police officer, whom he called “Murph”, about the alleged embezzlement because he did not want to announce the case.
“I knew about Mr. Day’s instability at the time,” Mr Sebastian told the court.
Before the breakup, the musician said he believed in his former manager, who would be able to manage his finances without his intervention.
“I trusted my boss. I do not speak or check my account to see if I have been paid… The only accounts I check are the ones I use every day, ”said Mr. Sebastian.
“My income is so complex that I have to rely on Mr. Day. This is the one who gets the money. “
In 2013, the court reported that Mr. Day had encouraged Mr. Sebastian to buy shares in My Medical Records worth $ 200,000 ($ 281,600), of which Mr. Day was a board member.
When the former friends parted ways, the court was told that both Mr. Day and Mr. Sebastian kept the money belonging to one, in confrontation, while both sides demanded additional information.
The court was told that Mr Day had retained the performance payments which he said were due to him under a pre-arranged commission, while Mr Sebastian held on to part of Mr Day’s legitimate commission to obtain explanations on the invoices. which allegedly do not match.
Testimony on Tuesday was sometimes quite heated: Mr Tumi asked Mr Sebastian if he was “making it up when you go” and the musician replied that the lawyer had suggested that the lawyer had suggested a “reasonable lie”.
“It’s far-fetched that Mr. Tumi is holding on to straw,” Mr. Sebastian said at one point.
The musician completed readings by 2pm on Tuesday and will give a concert in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/confidential/guy-sebastian-denies-history-of-violence-in-courtroom-battle-with-former-manager-titus-day-c-6919809
