Australia rejects former AFL player Stevens’ appeal — ABC News Australia
In Australia, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal of former Australian Football League player Nick Stevens, who sought to overturn his conviction in a fraud case. Stevens, who played for Carlton and Port Adelaide, must serve the remainder of his nine-month prison sentence.
As ABC News Australia reports, in June a jury found Stevens guilty of 12 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one count of using a false document. After his release, he must also comply with a two-year community corrections order.
Pool installation scheme
The case concerned pool installation agreements with six families in Mildura, in north-western Victoria. According to ABC, in 2017 the victims lost a total of 170,000 Australian dollars after Stevens received payments from them for pool installations.
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The source notes that he did not have builder registration, the required permits or adequate insurance. The jury also acquitted Stevens of one other similar count of obtaining financial advantage by deception. The defence relied on this acquittal in the appeal, arguing that the verdict was inconsistent, unreasonable and unsupported by the evidence.
Assessment of each count
The appeal judges noted that the trial court correctly instructed the jury on the need to consider each charge separately and determine whether Stevens knew his statements were false on the relevant date.
The acquittal concerned the first instalment paid by Julie Martin on 15 January 2017. From 27 January to 14 February that year, Stevens worked with the registered building company Bricol Building Products and lawfully installed six pools. The judges agreed that at the time of the first payment, he may have planned to involve the company in the work. At the same time, they considered evidence that Stevens had not provided Bricol with documents concerning the other pools, including Martin’s pool. Her second and third payments were made in March, after the lawful work with Bricol had been completed.
