http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/parramatta-eels/police-appeal-against-nonconviction-of-former-parrmatta-eels-ceo-scott-seward-20170802-gxnz4o.html
Scott Seward has been handed a two-year good behaviour bond.
Scott Seward has been handed a two-year good behaviour bond. Photo: AAP
Police are appealing against the sanction handed down to Scott Seward after the former Parramatta chief executive escaped without conviction for his role in the Eels salary cap scandal.
Seward dishonestly obtained $221,106.50 from the Parramatta Leagues Club by arranging and authorising false invoices between November 2014 and June 12, 2015. Those fraud offences carry penalties of up to five years in jail, but Seward was given just a two-year good behaviour bond.
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The NSW Police Force's Fraud and Cybercrime squad spent more than a year putting together its case against Seward and former football manager Jason Irvine, whose case is set for mention in September. Fairfax Media has been told the case has been officially closed and that no other charges will be laid over the matter.
"The offender's motive was not one of personal gain," Deputy Chief Magistrate Chris O'Brien said when handing down his sentence last month.
"Rather [it was] to fix up what was a diabolical mess he had inherited from others."
Shocked by the leniency Seward was shown, police have lodged an appeal to the Director of Public Prosecutions. They are hoping a review of the full circumstances of the case will result in an appeal proceeding.
The NRL claimed Parramatta had illegally overspent on players to the tune of $3 million during a period in which the club earned two wooden spoons. The governing body stripped the Eels of 12 competition points last season, effectively ending any chance of breaking a finals drought that has stretched from 2009, while also fining the club $750,000. The NSW government subsequently sacked the leagues club board, which also presided over the football club.
"The accused was initially informed by several staff members that the PNRL were under the required NRL salary cap," according to facts tendered to court.
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"However, within a short time of commencing as CEO, the accused began to receive demands from players and their managers for outstanding sums of cash that they were promised as third-party payment deals. These promises were made prior to the accused commencing employment as CEO of PNRL.
"These sums of cash were not listed in the salary cap or in the player contracts and were clearly breaches of the NRL salary cap.
"The accused attempted to get help from employees of PNRL and the board of directors of PNRL/PLC, however, the accused was continuously told to 'fix the problem or we will find someone who could'.
"The accused had never before held the role of a CEO previously, so he continued to search for options to solve the 'problem' he had inherited, to meet the demands for cash payments being made [by] players and their managers."
Shortly after starting in the CEO role, Seward was informed that there were $589,000 worth of outstanding payments to players and managers.
According to the facts sheet, Seward arranged for landscaping and ground maintenance firm Green Options to issue false invoices totalling $76,000.
"The money obtained because of the false invoices was paid into the account of Irvine, who subsequently paid it out to the players or their managers," the facts sheet said.
Seward arranged for a further five false invoices totalling $145,106.50 to be arranged with Leba Zibara of Zibara Clothing. Those funds were also to players and managers.
"On one occasion the accused passed money on to a player, on all other occasions the money was provided to others to pass onto the player or manager," the fact sheet said.
Seward eventually came clean to NRL officials and pleaded guilty to one count of dishonestly obtained a financial advantage by deception at the earliest opportunity. He also admitted to publishing false and misleading material to obtain advantage, which was considered when sentencing.
O'Brien opted not to record a conviction due to the "unique" nature of the case.
"Somewhat unusually I have determined in this matter to impose a lesser penalty than that suggested by the offender's solicitor," the magistrate said.
The fallout from the Eels salary cap saga continues. The NRL has turned its focus to the role of player managers, with the agent accreditation committee expected to hand down its findings later this year.
Adrian Proszenko
Adrian Proszenko
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Originally, when this happened, I was like: "Let's let sleeping dogs lie" and all move on and I have deliberately not passed comment on this. However, I'm not surprised the police have appealed this as the decision was outrageous.
If you accept a position like a CEO, you accept a whole bunch of responsibilities that come with that. Even more so, as CEO of a community-based organisation, you take on an enormous level of responsibility as guardian of something that a lot of people hold dear and which involve the dollars of ordinary mum and dad members.
The defence that he "inherited" all these problems are a total crock. If you remember the coverage. on top of these examples, there were also issues related to Anthony Watmough's signing, and his contract with the Black Citrus contract. He didn't inherit that, he made those deals and proudly trumpteted Watmough's signing as his own grand achievement. If nothing else, those actions proved a pattern of behaviour.
Even in you accept that he was burdened by the problems of others, even if you accept he was getting board pressure, he is a grown professional man, and he owns the decisions he took. Nobody held a gun to his head on any of these deals. The fact that he had no experience as a CEO is totally irrelevant. He accepted a job, and in doing so accepted responsibility for what came with that role. We've since found out he got sacked over his ridiculous handling of the Foran contract, and then he chose to roll over on the club, and burn the place down. The fact that his sob story of a naive little man who was bullied into committing fraud has been accepted by the court, is quite frankly beyond belief. The fact that the money that was fraudulently spent, was not that of a corporate, but of ordinary members, should not lessen the offence, it should exacerbate it.
All of this is related to the clubs industry, which is rife with corruption, and yet another precedent has been set that nobody cares about the proper and appropriate use of members monies.
Agree 100% with this post.
Based on this ridiculous decision we can all assume that the bunch of men involved in the recent 150 mill tax fraud will all get off on the basis that they were out of their depth, and naive enough to not fully understand the consequences of their actions - - - - somehow I don't think that will happen.
Well Seward is a bigger fool than any of us realised. Who in their right mind would commit a crime as part of their employment to fix someone else's failings? All he had to do was go to the NRL as soon as he became aware of this. I don't think this is the whole truth however.
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