Court hears former AFL footballer Nick Stevens likely to face prison term

Ex-AFL player Nick Stevens appeared in prison greens during a County Court hearing on Thursday. (Supplied: Anita Lester) Former AFL footballer Nick Stevens will be sentenced next month for defrauding six Mildura families in 2017. A jury found him guilty of 12 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception after he failed to install legally compliant pools using his landscaping business. A compensation claim has been lodged on behalf of the victims, and lawyers are deliberating on the exact amount being sought. Link copiedShareShare articleFormer AFL footballer Nick Stevens has been warned he is likely to remain behind bars after he is sentenced next month. The 46-year-old is currently in prison after a jury found him guilty in March of 12 charges of dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception, and one charge of using a false document. The ex-Port Adelaide and Carlton player deceptively obtained $167,798.75 from families in the Mildura area to install pools at their homes in 2017. He did so without the required builder registration, permits, insurance, or a licence. His actions left six families with improperly installed pools, or holes in their backyard. During a pre-sentence hearing on Thursday, five victim impact statements were provided to the County Court of Victoria, and four were read aloud. The court was told many of the victims were of modest means, had little fat in their budgets, and had their trust breached by Stevens. Ben Knight spoke of how the saga resulted in a breakdown of his marriage. "We started out excited with plans for a pool and ended up with a hole in our yard for years," he said. Kerry Knight said she felt "stroke-like" symptoms as a result of financial and emotional pressure. "The money lost represented years of hard work," she said. "We incurred additional costs completing the pool installation that should never had occurred. In his impact statement, Rod Charman described Stevens as a "juvenile delinquent", saying he handled the matter immaturely during court proceedings. "He has demonstrated a complete lack of integrity to his responsibility as a business person." Tina Charman said she felt bitterness and resentment towards Stevens, and had now established a distrust for tradespeople and strangers. "All of this could have been avoided if Mr Stevens just paid us back our money and we all could have moved on with our lives," she said. The court heard Stevens had accepted an obligation to repay one couple, but was resisting agreeing to repay others until the amount owed was determined. The court heard the $167,798.75 being considered for the purposes of Stevens's sentence may end up different to the total being sought by the victims. The court was told Stevens had paid $10,000 back to the Knights. Nick Stevens has been found guilty of fraud and deception, and is awaiting sentencing. (AAP: David Crosling) Barrister Jim Stavris raised two precedents ahead of sentencing. One was the sentence handed to Dylan DiPierdomenico, the son of AFL legend Robert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico, for defrauding $140,000 from a golfing wholesaler. He was handed a nine-month term of imprisonment. The other precedent was the recent conviction of top Melbourne silk Norman O'Bryan, who defrauded clients of a class action lawsuit. He was ordered to undertake 600 hours of community work as part of a four-year community corrections order. Mr Stavris told the court Stevens was a vulnerable prisoner due to his notoriety as an ex-AFL player. He told the court at times Stevens had been isolated 23 hours a day for his protection. "He's going to do his time a bit harder than most, and in my submission the community doesn't get any benefit of him being in prison," Mr Stavris said. Prosecutor Toni Stokes later retorted that Stevens showed no evidence of remorse, and maintained his innocence. "He's a blue-collar worker, but it's a white-collar offence," Ms Stokes said. "The need for punishment and denunciation in this case is that anything without a term of imprisonment, head sentence and non-parole period would be out of range." Judge Fiona Todd ordered a community corrections order assessment, but warned Stevens he was unlikely to receive a combination sentence. "The role of punishment and denunciation is powerful in this case," Judge Todd said. "The persistence of the offending, the impact on those involved … there is a role for punishment here." Stevens has been in custody for 52 days and will be sentenced on June 15. Copy linkFacebookX (formerly Twitter)Top StoriesRBA expected to pause rate hikes as economist fears 'downturn'Topic:Unemployment

Court hears former AFL footballer Nick Stevens likely to face prison term

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