Following his retirement from AFL, Stevens focused on expanding his business, NJS Signature Landscapes, in Melbourne. Additionally, he took on the senior coaching role of the NSW/ACT Rams for the AFL Under-18 Championships for 2010 and 2011; he had served as an assistant midfield coach for the team since 2006 while still playing for Carlton.[2]
Criminal History
Stevens only served one season of his coaching contract and was sacked in January 2015, after he was found guilty of assault and threats to bash his ex-partner.[6] In March 2015, Stevens was sentenced to eight months jail but appealed.[7][8] He was again found guilty in July 2016, sentenced to six months jail (with three months suspended), and fined $3,000.[9]
Stevens was charged in 2019 with Obtain Financial Advantage by Deception by the Victorian Police in the Magistrates Court, with the case being taken over by the Office of Public Prosecutions after referral to a higher court (the Country Court of Victoria). Stevens has and has been on bail since that time. Stevens has maintained his innocence throughout that time, pleading not guilty to the charges.[10]
Stevens case is currently on trial for dishonestly, facing 18 fraud-related charges, including obtaining a financial advantage by deception, after allegedly accepting $170,000 from six families to install swimming pools that were either not started or left incomplete at properties in the Mildura region.[11]
The first trial in June 2025, Victorian County Court Judge Fran Dalziel discharged the jury in the second week of Nick Stevens’ fraud trial, after revealing she had previously been involved in a separate prosecution against the former Carlton star as a Crown Prosecutor.[12]
A new four-week trial was scheduled to go ahead in late February 2026, however the County Court experienced significant delays, including a juror discharge in May 2025 and an earlier trial being aborted due to a judge mix-up, according to a report by ABC News.
After nearly nine years, the case has moved from indictment to a 15 day trial beginning in March 2026 in the Melbourne County Court[13]
In the Matter of DPP Vs Stevens in the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne.
A jury found Stevens guilty on 12 counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception and one charge of using a false document.
He was found not guilty on one charge of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, relating to the first victim, he has be remanded into custody pending sentencing.[14]
Stevens, who had been on bail, was taken into custody after the verdict as County Court Judge Ms Stokes said he was now “very likely” to be facing a reasonable prison term at sentence.
He will return to court for a pre-sentence hearing on May 21 2026
