Former AFL player Nick Stevens convicted of fraud in pool installation scheme
Consensus Summary
A jury in Victoria’s County Court found former AFL player Nick Stevens guilty of 13 fraud-related charges after he defrauded six families in Mildura out of $171,000 for pool installations that were never legally completed. Stevens, who played 231 AFL games for Port Adelaide and Carlton, was convicted of 12 counts of obtaining financial advantage by deception and one charge of using a false document in 2017. Prosecutors alleged he knowingly misled customers about permits, building insurance, and compliance requirements, leaving victims with unfinished pools, illegal structures, or no pools at all. Judge Fiona Todd rejected Stevens’ bid to extend bail and remanded him to custody until his May 21 sentencing. The case, delayed by three aborted trials, centered on evidence that Stevens lacked permits, insurance, and proper contracts despite prior experience installing compliant pools under supervision. His defence argued he intended to complete the work but faced financial and permit hurdles, though prosecutors painted him as a habitual liar with no genuine intent to deliver. Victims like Ben Knight testified to losing tens of thousands of dollars, with Stevens offering excuses like weather delays and legal disputes with Leisure Pools. Mildura Council’s stop-work orders in 2017 further exposed the lack of permits, forcing families to either demolish illegal pools or leave them unfinished.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Nick Stevens, 46, was found guilty of 12 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and 1 charge of using a false document in the County Court of Victoria on Monday, April 2024
- Stevens was acquitted on 1 charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception relating to the first victim’s part-payment in 2017
- The fraud involved six customers in Mildura, Victoria, who paid Stevens a total of approximately $171,000 for pool installations that were never legally completed or delivered
- Stevens worked as a distributor for Leisure Pools and operated a pool installation business in 2017, despite lacking proper building permits for the projects
- Judge Fiona Todd remanded Stevens into custody, rejecting his barrister Jim Stavris’ request to extend bail ahead of a pre-sentence hearing on May 21, 2024
- Mildura Council issued stop-work orders for Stevens’ pool installations in 2017 due to missing permits, with the first order issued in May 2017
- Stevens pleaded not guilty to all 14 charges and was charged in 2019, with the case delayed by three aborted trials
- Prosecutor Toni Stokes alleged Stevens never intended to install legally compliant pools, despite having prior experience with compliant installations under supervision
- Stevens’ financial difficulties in late 2017 included overdrawn bank accounts and outstanding debts to Leisure Pools and a transport company
- One victim, Ben Knight, testified he paid Stevens over $30,000 for a pool he never received, citing excuses like bad weather and legal disputes
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Stevens was described as a former Carlton vice-captain and played 231 AFL games over 12 seasons for Port Adelaide and Carlton (1998–2009)
- The false document charge related to a doctored screenshot Stevens allegedly sent to a shipping company, falsely showing he had transferred funds for a pool delivery—he denied sending it but admitted the screenshot appeared false
- Stevens’ defence argued he had an ongoing arrangement with registered builder Brian McDonnell to source permits, claiming McDonnell never terminated it despite no contact about the six families’ pools
- Judge Fiona Todd summarized the jury’s task as determining whether Stevens ‘proven beyond reasonable doubt’ that he knew his representations about pool installations were false at the time
- Stevens claimed he believed permits would be issued after final approvals and had clients sign forms to apply for permits, which he sent to McDonnell
- Prosecutor Toni Stokes accused Stevens of being a ‘habitual liar’ and highlighted a ‘clear conflict’ between his claims and evidence from victims and McDonnell
- ABC included a photograph caption noting Stevens’ age as 45 (compared to NEWSCOMAU’s 46)
- ABC emphasized Stevens’ post-AFL career as a coach for SANFL club Glenelg (not mentioned in NEWSCOMAU)
- ABC quoted municipal building surveyor Mark Yanstes directly about council surveyors finding jobs where homeowners had signed permit applications but paperwork was never received by the private surveyor
- ABC did not mention the specific false document screenshot incident or Stevens’ denial of sending it
- ABC’s victim quote from Ben Knight was slightly more concise, focusing only on the $30,000 payment and excuses for non-delivery
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- NEWSCOMAU states Stevens’ age as 46, while ABC states he is 45
- NEWSCOMAU describes Stevens as a former Carlton vice-captain with 231 AFL games over 12 seasons, but ABC does not mention his vice-captaincy role
- NEWSCOMAU reports Stevens’ defence argued he ‘started jobs thinking the permits were coming’ and ‘would have taken their money and run’ if he didn’t intend to complete the work, while ABC omits this specific chronology argument
- NEWSCOMAU includes details about Stevens’ false document screenshot incident and his denial of sending it, which ABC does not mention
- NEWSCOMAU explicitly states Stevens had run into financial difficulty by early 2018 with overdrawn accounts and debts to Leisure Pools and a transport company, while ABC only briefly mentions financial difficulty ‘towards the end of 2017’ without specifics
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