Former footballers jailed over £5m school swindle

TWO EX-PROFESSIONAL footballers have been jailed for scamming £5m from schools and colleges through a bogus sports leadership scheme.

Former Wales international Mark Aizlewood, 58, who played for Bradford City and Leeds United, and Paul Sugrue, 56 – whose past clubs include Manchester City, Middlesbrough and Cardiff City – promised to help struggling youngsters gain an NVQ in activity leadership.

They told colleges across the country they would provide fulltime training in football coaching as well as work experience and a £95 weekly stipend to 3,800 students.

But in reality, hundreds of the students on their books did not even exist, many lived at the opposite end of the country from the training scheme, while others were doing just two to three hours of study a week.

Earlier this month, Aizlewood was convicted of one count and Sugrue of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation by offering the nonexistent apprenticeships through their firm Luis Michael Training Ltd.

Yesterday afternoon, Aizlewood was sentenced to six years, while Sugrue was sentenced to seven years in prison.

At Southwark Crown Court in London, Judge David Tomlinson said the scheme involved “eye-watering sums of Government money” under the pretext of helping disadvantaged people.

“This was quite simply shameful exploitation,” he said, adding: “There was a serious detrimental effect on colleges of further education.”

Aizlewood, from Aberdare, Mid Glamorgan, was acquitted of a second count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

Aizlewood and Sugrue, from Cardiff, submitted false accounts to colleges to persuade them to do business with the firm.

Aizlewood denied any wrongdoing, telling the jury he had been preoccupied by his late wife’s spiralling mental health problems before her suicide in June last year.

He told the court he had neither the “time or inclination” to carry out such a complex fraud during the period.