Former AFL footballer Nick Stephens has been sentenced to nine months in prison for scamming families in Mildura out of more than 160,000 dollars as part of a dodgy pool installation business. The case has ended in a custodial sentence for the one-time professional player, who built his reputation on the field before the fraud came to light.
Stephens, a former Port Adelaide and Carlton player, appeared by video link in the Melbourne County Court for the sentencing. His appearance via video brought to a close a legal process that had been running since earlier in the year, when the charges against him were tested in court.
He had been found guilty in March of 12 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception. The verdict established that his conduct in connection with the pool business amounted to deliberate deception of the people who had paid him, rather than a business that had simply failed.
The charges were laid after six families paid Stephens to install pools at their homes around Mildura. The court heard that this was a job he was not legally qualified to do, meaning the families had handed over their money for work he was not in a position to properly carry out.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Fiona Todd said his actions had a corrosive effect on the currency of goodwill and trust. The remark underlined the wider harm caused by the scheme, which struck at the confidence local families placed in a tradesperson they had hired in good faith.
The court also took into account time already served, with Nick Stephens having already spent more than 70 days in custody. That period will factor into how the nine-month sentence is served, as the case closes a damaging chapter for the former footballer and the families he defrauded.