TWO football coaches who ran an £83,000 football training scam involving schools and clubs across the region have been jailed.
Robert Peter Davis, 30, and Paul Alan Carroll, 47, were employed by Hull City Council at the KC Stadium to provide football coaching services to sports clubs, schools and community groups.
But the pair then set up their own company offering the same services and allowed the organisations in both Hull and the East Riding to believe it was part of the council.
Groups and schools paid them fees for running the courses, instead of the council.
The money should have been paid to the council instead of its two employees.
The men claimed back petrol and the cost of hiring schools. They even claimed back the petrol costs and minibus hire for a stag weekend and for the hire of a hall for a child's birthday party.
Recorder Michelle Heeley jailed them both for ten months for the offence of fraud in a position of trust.
She told the men: "You had both been employed by the council for a number of years.
"Clearly, you were doing your jobs well but exploited weaknesses in the system and used external coaching academies to run sports courses to generate income for yourselves.
"You obtained grants, ran football fun camps and then had the gall to claim time sheets and petrol.
"I'm afraid this was a gross breach of trust at a time when councils are being forced to make cutbacks and cannot afford to lose money.
"I would be failing in my duty if I didn't send out a message.
"You were trusted employees and you have exploited this trust."
Over a two-year period, the pair defrauded the council out of £83,355.
Carroll, of Ancaster Avenue, north Hull, was employed by the council as a leisure development manager.
Davis, of Richmond Street, west Hull, was employed as a community football development officer.
The pair had been invoicing the council for work using companies called Longhill Football Academy and Sporting Spectrum.
They both pleaded guilty during an earlier hearing at Hull Crown Court to committing fraud while in a position of trust between 2007 and 2009.
Carroll told the court: "I have regret and shame for my involvement in this crime. I truly regret it and I'm truly sorry."
Davis's barrister Wendy Foster said he had struggled with a gambling addiction and committed the crime out of greed to fund his habit.
The men were caught when Carroll mistakenly sent an email from one of their business accounts to a senior council employee, who then realised something was amiss.
The pair were both dismissed by the council following a disciplinary hearing.
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