// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Chairman stole £22k from junior football club to fund cocaine habit
Karl Morecroft lied to fellow club members as he took payments amounting to £22,491 over the course of more than a year
A former junior football club chairman stole £22,491 from accounts and faked HMRC documents to feed his cocaine habit.
Karl Morecroft, 45, lied to club members at RTB Ebbw Vale while taking home the payments over the course of 15 months.
The club in Blaenau Gwent supported 330 children and relied on the goodwill of fundraisers, parents and volunteers to raise the money to keep going after the fraud.
Morecroft was given a 20-month jail term suspended for two years at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, and must complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 50 rehabilitation days.
He was also ordered to pay £21,259 within three years and a default order of 12 months in prison if he failed to do so was imposed.
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Morecroft, of Alexandra Street in Blaina, coached the under-eights and under-nines before becoming chairman in 2023.
He pretended the money was for "football equipment, council liabilities, Companies House fees, charity registration costs and business penalties".
Prosecutor Denise Osei said Morecroft repeatedly lied about making "out of pocket" payments for which he had requested "reimbursements" from treasurer Joshua Holvey.