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Ex-Eels chief admits NRL salary-cap fraud

Parramatta fans saw their team stripped of 12 premiership points because of salary-cap rorts.

Parramatta fans saw their team stripped of 12 premiership points because of salary-cap rorts. Photo: AAP

Former Parramatta chief executive Scott Seward has admitted to a fraud charge related to his role in the NRL club’s salary cap scandal.

Seward, 41, pleaded guilty on Friday to dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception and also admitted publishing false or misleading material to obtain advantage.

Seward was the Eels’ chief executive between September, 2013, and June, 2015, during which time the Eels were accused of systematically cheating the NRL salary cap by way of third-party payments.

The league stripped the Eels of 12 competition points and fined them $750,000 in 2016 when an investigation revealed the club had hidden payments and issued inflated invoices from suppliers to raise cash that was then relayed to players.

The punishment related to cap breaches between 2013 and 2016.

Court papers show Seward dishonestly obtained $220,000 from the Parramatta NRL club and the Parramatta Leagues Club by arranging and authorising false invoices and subsequent payment to players between November 2014 and mid-June 2015.

The second charge relates to the signing of a service contract that was inflated to provide a false income of $120,000 for E-Group Security Services so they could pay a player at the club between March and June 2015.

Seward is one of two people charged by Strikeforce Rhodium with the other being former football manager Jason Irvine.

Seward is due to be sentenced in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on July 4.

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