Guy Sebastian’s former manager Titus Day will have integrity questioned after guilty verdict

Guy Sebastian’s former manager will have his integrity and good character questioned after he was found guilty of embezzlement.

Titus Day was found guilty by a NSW District Court jury and convicted of 34 charges, including the embezzlement of more than $620,000 of the pop singer’s earnings.

The 49-year-old fronted the same court on Friday for a sentence hearing with at least nine family and friends supporting him in the public gallery.

Crown prosecutor David Morters SC made indications he would be submitting statements which questioned Day’s good character and relationships with clients.

However, defence barrister Dominic Toomey SC said he would be relying on a “large number of client testimonials”.

Judge Timothy Gartelmann told the court he would only be considering evidence that showed Day’s offending was out of character.

“The question of whether or not he was on good terms is neither here nor there,” the judge said.

“The question of whether the offences are out of character is the issue … if the offender were otherwise regarded as honest, trustworthy and with integrity, that is a matter of some potential significance to the sentence exercise.”

During almost three hours of legal argument between the defence and Crown, Day’s family members were vocal in their disagreement with the Crown’s allegations.

One man, who said he had been friends with the 49-year-old for years, claimed people had been “playing games with Day’s life”.

Mr Morters sought to tender a statement from Day’s former employer at 22 talent agency, Sean Anderson, who employed him as an assistant before training him in management.

He took to the witness stand where he told the court he hired Day because he was an honest man with good character and integrity.

Mr Anderson told the court Mr Sebastian had been a “high-profile” client of “significant revenue” at his agency.

However, Mr Sebastian left the talent agency when Day began his own management business.

The sentence hearing is expected to take more than one day.

Day faced a gruelling seven-week trial after he was accused of embezzling nearly $900,000 allegedly owed to the singer in the form of music royalties, performance fees and ambassador payments.

The jury heard a mountain of evidence from witnesses, including Sebastian, his wife Jules, bookkeepers and the police officer in charge of the investigation.

On June 30, the jury found Day guilty and convicted him on 34 of 47 charges. He was found not guilty of 13 charges.

Day became Sebastian’s manager in 2009 when he started his own talent management business 6 Degrees.

The court was told the two were close friends but parted ways after a bitter falling out in 2017.

Following the separation, Sebastian claimed he found anomalies in his financial records and launched legal action against his former manager to recoup the money he was owed.

Day responded with a counterclaim, alleging it was he who was owed money by Sebastian – a claim the reality TV show judge denied.

Both men continued to argue the other owed them money throughout the heated trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court.

The jury found Day had used some of the money owed to Sebastian – including about $187,000 from a Taylor Swift support act gig – to purchase shares on his behalf in a company called My Medical Records. The court was told Day sat on the board of the company at the time.

Day was acquitted of embezzling $39,000 from a British and Irish Lions rugby tour performance, and other sums of money ranging from $6000 to $39,000 and $125,000.

The lengthy trial was plagued by delays, including the death of the original judge assigned to the case, Sebastian’s Covid-19 diagnosis and health emergencies.