The NSW prosecution service has been ordered to pay the legal costs of former Parramatta Eels chief executive Scott Seward after the DPP unsuccessfully appealed his sentence.
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Scott Seward, 42, pleaded guilty in May 2017 to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception. He also admitted to publishing false and misleading material to obtain advantage over his role in the NRL club's salary cap scandal.
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions appealed after Seward was handed a two-year good behaviour bond, but that appeal was dismissed in late last year.
The DPP on Friday in the Parramatta District Court was ordered to pay Seward's related legal costs of $58,000.
Speaking outside court on Friday, his solicitor John Sutton said "it is justice for my client... but the appeal should never have been brought (about)".
"He has been through a large amount of trauma, given he is the person who brought this matter to the authorities."
Mr Sutton said his client was "elated the appeal was dismissed and is very happy costs have been awarded".
When sentencing Seward last July, Deputy Chief Magistrate Christopher O'Brien acknowledged he did not implement the scheme to make off-the-books payments to players and managers.
"The offender was, as the CEO of Parramatta Eels, completely out of his depth and plainly unsupported by his board of directors. He is entitled to feel significantly let down by his board of directors."
Seward was chief executive of the Eels between September 2013 and June 2015, during which time the club was accused of systematically rorting the NRL salary cap through secret third-party payments.
Australian Associated Press
