Inside ‘devious’ $240k theft behind star-laden Melbourne T20 cricket series

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A former warehouse worker with “grandiose” ideas to bolster his image fleeced his employer out of almost $190,000 in a bid to put on T20 cricket tournaments featuring star international players.

Navishta Desilva, 36, dreamt of becoming a professional cricketer and played for Australia at under-15s level before he “hit a ceiling” and joined the workforce, the County Court of Victoria was told.

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Having permanently relocated from his home of Sri Lanka to Australia at the age of 20, Desilva tried his hand at a number of jobs, including service station attendee, door-to-door salesman, Harvey Norman sales assistant, Deloitte auditor and part-time DJ.

He developed a passion for events and went on to work at Live Nation as a hit-and-miss promoter, before he later decided he could promote cricket events through his own business called Global Talent Entertainment, the court was told.

Prosecutors said the business hosted an international Twilight T20 cricket series at Dandenong in Melbourne’s southeast, and managed several high-profile cricket players at Endeavour Hills Cricket Club.

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Desilva’s lawyer Sam Norton said funding didn’t come through for some events, prompting his client to steal from his then-employer, Omnivision, where he worked as a warehouse assistant.

Endeavour Hills Cricket Club cancelled the second day of a Twilight T20 Carnival in 2022 after its dealings with Global Talent Entertainment went sour when Desilva was charged.

Navishta Desilva arrives at the County Court of Victoria on October 20. Credit: Con Chronis/AAP

The first of the carnival’s matches went ahead in November 2022 and featured West Indies’ veteran batsman Chris Gayle.

There is no suggestion any of the players knew of Desilva’s behaviour.

“Having gotten to this position where he’s overcommitted, he feels as though he will let people down and he will lose any position of importance that he may have obtained by the calling off of these tournaments,” Norton told the court on Friday.

Desilva placed orders on Omnivision’s behalf with a legitimate supplier, CCTV Masters, and sent doctored invoices to his employer with inflated prices and his own bank details on them.

He ultimately stole more than $240,000 from Omnivision but the business netted a total loss of $189,000 after some of their CCTV Masters orders were fulfilled.

Desilva used the stolen money to pay cricket players — including Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne — more than $70,000.

Chris Gayle appeared in the Melbourne T20 series. Credit: Gareth Copley/ICC via Getty Images

He also transferred some of the money to Global Talent Entertainment and spent stolen funds at Louis Vuitton and Luxury Escapes, the court was told.

Judge David Brookes described Desilva’s offending as devious, calculated and quite skilful.

“This type of offending is devious and prolonged. It’s over 16 months and its quite … complicated,” he said.

“It seems to stem from immaturity and grandiose ideas.”

Prosecutors said Desilva was trying to establish himself as someone of importance by committing the offence.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception on Friday and has paid Omnivision back the $189,000.

Desilva leaned on his family and friends to pay back the money and was now working two jobs six days a week to pay off his debts, Norton said.

The judge ordered Desilva be assessed for a community corrections order ahead of his sentencing on October 30.

Norton noted media coverage of the case led to the breakdown of Desilva’s engagement and caused him mental health issues.

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