MELBOURNE (CelebrityAccess) — An Australian music industry accountant has reportedly been charged with allegedly embezzling $2.2 million from prominent musicians, and promoters, including Grammy-awarding winning artist Gotye, and the Laneway Festival.
According to The Music Network, Damien Luscombe, a former partner and business manager at White Sky Music Services, is facing 22 criminal counts, including financial advantage by deception and using false documents.
In a statement provided to TMN, a spokesperson for the Victoria Police said that the allegations of fraud cover a time frame of more than 11 years from 2011 – 2022.
While the police spokesperson did not name Luscombe, they stated that a 38-year-old South Morang man had been charged in connection with the alleged crimes.
White Sky, which tracks finances for more than 500 artists, promoters, music festivals and record labels, declined to comment to TMN but in a letter sent to clients last year, the company said that four or five artists had been impacted, including Peking Duk, Amy Shark, Tame Impala, Vance Joy, Tim Minchin, Goyte and Laneway Festival.
According to The Age, Luscombe provided key testimony at the trial of Guy Sebastian’s manager Titus Day, who was convicted in 2022 of embezzling more than $600,000 from his client.
