CARMARTHEN TOWN manager and former Wales international footballer Mark Aizlewood is one of six men charged in connection with a multi-million pound fraud involving footballbased apprentice schemes.
Aizlewood, 56, from Aberdare was among six defendants in the dock of Westminster Magistrates Court on Wednesday (May 4), charged with offences ranging from conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, to fraud and using a false instrument, after an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
The Town boss enjoyed a glittering football career that saw him earn 39 international caps for Wales whilst having spells at clubs such as Leeds United, Charlton Athletic and Cardiff City.
Former Middlesbrough, Cardiff City and Newport County player Paul Sugrue, 55, from Cardiff, who has also been charged with the offences, joined him in the dock along with Christopher Paul Martin [51, from Newbury, England], Keith Anthony Williams [43, from Anglesey, Wales], Steven Paul Gooding [52, from Bridgwater, England] and Jack William Harper [29, from Southport, England].
Aizlewood was among four director-shareholders of Luis Michael Training, a firm set up to enrol, assess and verify numbers of young people working on apprenticeships and NVQs in community sport, mainly through football clubs and coaching companies.
It is alleged Luis Michael Training Ltd (LMT) claimed payments from several Further Education Colleges for training and education services they did not, in fact, provide.
Mark Aizlewood, Paul Anthony Sugrue, Christopher Paul Martin and Keith Anthony Williams were directors and shareholders of Luis Michael Training Ltd.
Steven Paul Gooding and Jack William Harper are said to have been employed as recruiters of learners for this company.
It is alleged that a separate but linked attempt to defraud a Further Education college was committed by Jack William Harper, through a company called FootballQualifications.com.
The alleged conduct took place between 2009 and 2011.
In 2012 the Serious Fraud Office gave a provisional estimate of £1.6m for the fraudulent claims suspected to have been made by LMT after being referred the case by Gwent Police in 2011.
Some £6m of government funds had been poured into the footballcoaching scheme through the Skills Funding Agency. Overseen by Newport-based LMT, the scheme developed links to clubs such as Leeds, Millwall and Nottingham Forest. LMT was subject to a compulsory winding-up order in October 2011, brought on behalf of Sparholt College in Hampshire, which presented the winding up petition for the sum of £2,573,994.
The Insolvency Service subsequently disqualified Aizlewood from being a company director for six years following his role in LMT.
The serious Fraud Office, which was involved in the LMT investigation because it involved public funds said in 2012 that: “It is suspected that LMT produced false documentation, including registration papers, progress reviews and coaching examination certificates to falsely show to further education colleges and examining boards that training and apprenticeship placements had been successfully achieved and completed
“Through the colleges, LMT received payment for each apprentice enrolled and placed with an employer. The colleges were, in turn, funded through a government scheme overseen by the Skills Funding Agency.”
When asked by The Herald for comment, Robert Lloyd, communications director at Carmarthen Town AFC, said: “Mr Aizlewood made the club aware of the proceedings some time ago. The allegations have nothing whatsoever to do with Mr Aizlewood’s work for Carmarthen Town AFC. We are, of course, aware of the progress of the court case and will be monitoring the situation appropriately.”
The six defendants will make their next appearance at Southwark Crown Court on 1 June 2016.
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