AmexRuislip
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More than 3,000 teenagers thought they were "living the dream", believing they would get jobs coaching at Premier League football clubs.
But it was all a £5m youth training scheme fraud with former Wales star Mark Aizlewood at its helm.
The closest the youngsters got to the big time was handing out programmes on match day or sweeping changing room floors.
"Many of those enrolled were living the dream - thinking they would be coaches for clubs like Manchester City and gain an NVQ in activity leadership," a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) spokesman said.
"But it was a farce."
Following a four-month trial at Southwark Crown Court, four men were found guilty. Two others admitted charges before it started.
Directors Paul Sugrue, 56, from Cardiff, and Keith Williams, 45, from Anglesey, were both found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Mark Aizlewood, 57, of Aberdare, Rhondda, Cynon Taff, was found guilty of one count and fellow director, Christopher Martin, 53, of Catmore, West Berkshire, admitted both counts before the trial started.
There were two other men involved. Jack Harper, 30, of Merseyside, was found guilty of fraud and using a false instrument.
And Stephen Gooding, 53, from Bridgwater, Somerset, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation before the trial.
Luis Michael Training - named after Sugrue's father and stepson - was set up as a vehicle for the fraud to gain money from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA).
It targeted government cash earmarked to help youngsters not in employment, education or training improve their lives.
Yet, between October 2009 and December 2010, Sugrue pocketed £516,000, Aizlewood £424,000, Gooding £448,000, Harper £311,000, Williams £295,000 and Martin £249,000.
After a whistleblower alerted Gwent Police in November 2011, the SFO spent more than four years collecting 5.2 million pieces of evidence and interviewing 600 people.
The prosecution presented 237,000 pages to the jury and called 61 witnesses to give live evidence.
Despite this, investigators described it as a relatively simple fraud - with those involved knowing which government cash pot to exploit before forging a lot of paperwork.
more......................
But it was all a £5m youth training scheme fraud with former Wales star Mark Aizlewood at its helm.
The closest the youngsters got to the big time was handing out programmes on match day or sweeping changing room floors.
"Many of those enrolled were living the dream - thinking they would be coaches for clubs like Manchester City and gain an NVQ in activity leadership," a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) spokesman said.
"But it was a farce."
Following a four-month trial at Southwark Crown Court, four men were found guilty. Two others admitted charges before it started.
Directors Paul Sugrue, 56, from Cardiff, and Keith Williams, 45, from Anglesey, were both found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
Mark Aizlewood, 57, of Aberdare, Rhondda, Cynon Taff, was found guilty of one count and fellow director, Christopher Martin, 53, of Catmore, West Berkshire, admitted both counts before the trial started.
There were two other men involved. Jack Harper, 30, of Merseyside, was found guilty of fraud and using a false instrument.
And Stephen Gooding, 53, from Bridgwater, Somerset, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation before the trial.
Luis Michael Training - named after Sugrue's father and stepson - was set up as a vehicle for the fraud to gain money from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA).
It targeted government cash earmarked to help youngsters not in employment, education or training improve their lives.
Yet, between October 2009 and December 2010, Sugrue pocketed £516,000, Aizlewood £424,000, Gooding £448,000, Harper £311,000, Williams £295,000 and Martin £249,000.
After a whistleblower alerted Gwent Police in November 2011, the SFO spent more than four years collecting 5.2 million pieces of evidence and interviewing 600 people.
The prosecution presented 237,000 pages to the jury and called 61 witnesses to give live evidence.
Despite this, investigators described it as a relatively simple fraud - with those involved knowing which government cash pot to exploit before forging a lot of paperwork.
more......................