http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...m/news-story/9cf328ab96d00749427e7dc9eee0461a
Former Parramatta Eels boss Scott Seward says he ‘inherited secret payments problem’
SARAH CRAWFORD, The Daily Telegraph
an hour ago
DISGRACED former Eels CEO Scott Seward said secret payments had been promised to players before he took the job and when he went to the Board about the footballers demands for cash he was told, “fix the problem or they would find someone who could,” court documents reveal.
Seward, 41, fronted Downing Centre Local Court Tuesday to face a sentencing hearing for his part in the Parramatta Eels salary cap scandal which cost the club 12 premiership points and a $1 million fine.
The court heard Seward arranged off-the-books payments to past and present players totalling $221,106.50 between November 2014 and June 2015.
But his conscience ended up getting the better of him and he blew the whistle on himself and his club to the NRL CEO Todd Greenberg.
His lawyer John Sutton told the court Seward, “simply could not live with the fact that he’d engaged in this conduct ... It would not have come to light without the full and frank disclosure of the accused,” he told Deputy Chief Magistrate Chris O’Brien.
Police facts reveal when Seward took over as CEO of Parramatta National Rugby League Club in September 2013 staff told him the Eels were under the NRL salary cap.
But soon after commencing his role Seward began to receive “demands from players and managers for outstanding sums of cash” which were not listed in the salary cap or the footballers’ contracts.
Court documents state Seward discovered that players and managers had been promised a total of $589,000 in cash payments.
“The accused attempted to get help from employees of the club and the board of directors ... however, the accused was continuously told to “fix the problem or they would find someone who could,” court papers state.
“The accused had never held the role of a CEO previously and needed to maintain his employment, so he continued to search for options to solve the problem he inherited, to meet the demands for cash payments being made players and their managers,” the court documents read.
Seward, with the assistance of Eels football and logistics team manager, Jason Irvine, got two businesses associated with the club to provide false invoices for services never completed and the payments were then funnelled to players.
Tony Herman owner of landscape management company, Green Options and Leba Zibara of Zibara Clothing both agreed to provide the false invoices to “help out the club,” and believed everyone at the Eels, “knew about the deal,” court documents state.
Mr Sutton told the court Seward gained no financial benefit from the scheme.
“He made nothing. Absolutely nothing. Except his mental health was damaged ... this cost him everything,” Mr Sutton said.
He read out a letter from Seward’s former colleague at the club who wrote, “the happy-go-lucky man I knew became the shell of his former self.”
Seward has since moved to Melbourne with his wife and children and works in retail.
He has pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception and has indicated he will plead guilty to another charge of publishing false and misleading material to obtain advantage.
He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. Mr Sutton told Mr O’Brien Seward would not ask for a conviction not to be recorded.
Police prosecutor Renata Sala noted Seward provided significant assistance to police and said although he should receive a custodial sentence for his crime it did not have to be full-time jail.
Mr O’Brien adjourned the sentencing to next week.
