An accountant at White Sky has been found to have stolen over two million from celebrity clients across 11 years. Image source: Wirestock. Via Freepik.
Accountant Damien Luscombe, who worked for celebrities such as Peking Duk, Angus and Julia Stone, and Gotye, has pleaded guilty to charges of fraud.
Luscombe was found to have doctored invoices to direct payments, intended for clients, to his own bank account.
This occurred over an 11-year period with Luscombe being enabled by his position working for White Sky, a finance firm in Melbourne.
The firm specialises in finance management within the entertainment industry.
Luscombe’s position as business manager and partner allowed him to approve transactions without oversight, according to prosecutors.
A colleague at White Sky noticed suspicious transactions that could be linked to Luscombe in 2022, according to court documents.
Two months later, after meeting with lawyers, Luscombe made a full confession.
Most of the money was spent on daily sports betting, through online accounts with Sportsbet, Bet Easy, and William Hill. Luscombe later admitted to having a gambling habit from the age of 18, that he states escalated into an addiction.
The court discovered that Luscombe had started his career at his family’s accounting firm and had avoided a conviction for stealing from a previous employer. This had allegedly occurred ten days prior to starting his employment as an accountant with White Sky.
Peking Duk, a music duo consisting of Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles, had $625,639 stolen. Hyde stated he felt “completely betrayed” while Styles stated he had been “robbed blind”.
“Damo used to look us in the eye with smiles and he used to chat to us candidly, as friends about our money,” said Styles.
Luscombe has been sentenced for 11 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one charge of creating a false document. The judge, George Georgiou, stated that Luscombe “purported to be [the victims’] friend”.
“You knew what you were doing was wrong but you went to great lengths to hide it from your employers, your victims and your family. While gambling might explain your offending, it provides you with no excuse.”
Prosecutors total Luscombe’s stolen funds as $2,166,036 across 293 fraudulent transactions, from 11 clients. The thefts began in 2011 and increased between 2020 and 2022.
In a confession letter, Luscombe wrote that he was “deeply embarrassed and ashamed of [his] conduct”, and he “apologised to each client and to White Sky”.
Luscombe’s’ lawyers state that he signed over $30,000 worth of outstanding bank payments along with $25,000 from his personal accounts to White Sky for distribution amongst his victims.
The sentence will cover six years in jail, with parole eligibility after a period of three years and nine months.
