Kids League Fraud Charges

[pauld]

Think delta's been a bit harsh on the local/national FA here as it was their intervention that forced this evil pair out and that was when the fraud unravelled. Although neither would have been involved at all (or even known there was an issue) if it hadn't been for the determination of Andy Ratcliffe (a former colleague in the Trust) who was the only person prepared to stand up to them (and as delta says, took dog's abuse for doing so), exposed some of their appalling practices and stood firm in the face of some appalling abuse from them and their allies to ensure the right thing was done. Take a bow, Andy, you've done a sterling job for football in Swindon (again!)

[Arriba]

The whole situation with the league and the total bias towards Shaw Fc always left a bitter taste and was remarked about and common knowledge for years.
Even before this fraud was known about, those two women were well known and disliked by other clubs. Very up themselves and unpleasant.
If Don Rogers was Joe Bloggs and not a legend in the town he would be getting major stick too I think. The whole thing stinks.

[Tails]

Pretty sure Margarets son was in my year and played for Shaw. He's been very quiet on Facebook recently... Pretty shocking actually as I think my mum and dad knew her really well.

Tbf, they won pretty much everything in my year group but they were genuinely the best team!

[lambourn red]

Think delta's been a bit harsh on the local/national FA here as it was their intervention that forced this evil pair out and that was when the fraud unravelled. Although neither would have been involved at all (or even known there was an issue) if it hadn't been for the determination of Andy Ratcliffe (a former colleague in the Trust) who was the only person prepared to stand up to them (and as delta says, took dog's abuse for doing so), exposed some of their appalling practices and stood firm in the face of some appalling abuse from them and their allies to ensure the right thing was done. Take a bow, Andy, you've done a sterling job for football in Swindon (again!)

It would have been still going on if it was not for Andy, they had an inner circle all based at Shaw FC that was very difficult to argue with or you just got fine after fine . I was chairman and Secretary for Lambourn Juniors and had a few run ins with them over petty fines which I seemed to be shelling out on a weekly basis it looks like a lot of them were not finding there way into the NWFL funds.

[lambourn red]

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/11530476.Football_club_duo_face_jail_for_fraud/

Link from the Adver today

[joteddyred]

There's lots of stuff coming out now about numerous clubs handing over money for pitches and transfer fees where the money subsequently disappeared. 

Shaw FC no longer exist, although I believe a number of the teams are now playing under the banner of Lydiard Millicent.

It will be a travesty if they don't go to prison.

[deltaincline]

Just read the Advertiser link posted up by Lambourn Red - thanks for that LR

I'm now wondering why Margaret Rivers has still got their coveted Community Award attached to her name??

Having entered a guilty plea in court last week, it's game over for her now and I believe they should immediately strip her of the award and make it known in public, otherwise any future winner will be tainted and the whole thing will be devalued, assuming its still being awarded every year?.

It will sell more papers for the Advertiser as they can publicise it themselves and most people apart from friends of the thieves would agree with their sentiments.

Mind you, maybe that will prompt Don Rogers to speak out on their behalf against the idea in the Advertiser, again.......

If the £200,000 fraud is proven to be right, and its not £60,000 as claimed, I'd also like to see the Advertiser going after and questioning the ex league chairman and FA approved referee Kevan Williams, who is coincidentally, another good mate of.... you guessed it, Mr Don Rogers (you couldn't honestly make this shit up)

Because they've fiddled £200,000 out of the league, it must have been going on for more than a few years and Williams was puffing his chest out around the town as the chairman for years before that, and with the two thieves working for him at the time (images and stories all over the net).

Not suggesting that this Kevan Williams character was in on the women's fraud or the theft of money, but he must surely be responsible or at least accountable to the FA if it was going on right under his nose as it looks like it was? If not, who takes the rap apart from the criminals above?

Anyway, if there are any Journo's at all left at the Advertiser offices nowadays, get that community award back pronto and strip the thieving bitch of the title

[Frigby Daser]

Other than by association, is there anything to implicate Don Rogers, beyond supporting two women he thought were doing a good job? Apologies in advance if those on here know more than me (which is nothing).... and more than the police.

[lambourn red]

Other than by association, is there anything to implicate Don Rogers, beyond supporting two women he thought were doing a good job? Apologies in advance if those on here know more than me (which is nothing).... and more than the police.

Don was very naive and left himself open to criticism from the FA as he was a signatory on the NWFL account yet a large % of the funds were paid to him for trophies, match balls which every team HAD to purchase 2 each season. When I think back at all the fund raising we did at Lambourn over the years to keep youth football going and how much was being paid to the North Wilts League it makes me angry and i would imagine that would be the same for most of the clubs.

[Frigby Daser]

Don was very naive and left himself open to criticism from the FA as he was a signatory on the NWFL account yet a large % of the funds were paid to him for trophies, match balls which every team HAD to purchase 2 each season. When I think back at all the fund raising we did at Lambourn over the years to keep youth football going and how much was being paid to the North Wilts League it makes me angry and i would imagine that would be the same for most of the clubs.

But, not being the treasurer or in finance, he wouldn't have signed off on the accounts in the sense he was verifying their accuracy, was he? I'm only saying, it's a very long way to go from 'clubs must use Don Rogers Sports' (face it, it's him, Dave Whelan or Mike Ashley that gets the money) to "you've committed, conspired or turned a blind eye to a calculated fraud". If I was siphoning money off as these women were, I'd be damn sure nobody else knew or could know about it.

Of course I'd rather his reputation isn't tarnished, but it seems from this thread, unless there really are reasons to believe otherwise, that his reputation has taken a battering purely by association. That wouldn't be right.

[lambourn red]

But, not being the treasurer or in finance, he wouldn't have signed off on the accounts in the sense he was verifying their accuracy, was he? I'm only saying, it's a very long way to go from 'clubs must use Don Rogers Sports' (face it, it's him, Dave Whelan or Mike Ashley that gets the money) to "you've committed, conspired or turned a blind eye to a calculated fraud". If I was siphoning money off as these women were, I'd be damn sure nobody else knew or could know about it.

Of course I'd rather his reputation isn't tarnished, but it seems from this thread, unless there really are reasons to believe otherwise, that his reputation has taken a battering purely by association. That wouldn't be right.

I never said that he was involved only stated that the FA in their statement on the matter before it ever got to a criminal matter reported that he was naive being a signatory and being the single biggest customer . I think Don would be embarrassed by the whole affair as he and others were very vocal in their support for the 2 women before the real facts were known and it became a criminal case. I was at the AGM about 18 months ago where the Wilts FA presented their findings but at that time there was no mention of the scale of the fraud as they said it was an ongoing investigation.

[pauld]

Of course I'd rather his reputation isn't tarnished, but it seems from this thread, unless there really are reasons to believe otherwise, that his reputation has taken a battering purely by association. That wouldn't be right.

Well, it's a little more than that (although a hell of a long way short of anything like conniving in the criminality). Even when it was very obvious they were bad 'uns and that something was very seriously wrong, Don backed them all the way. Including, sadly, participating in some of the very unpleasant vilification of Andy Ratcliffe that the Rivers/Prictor camp were encouraging as they tried to smear the man who they perhaps realised would be their undoing.

So while he's certainly not guilty of any legal misdoing, he does come out of all this with his reputation slightly tarnished, if only for exercising some extremely poor judgement and condoning some pretty unpleasant behaviour, if only by inaction. I say this with no pleasure as I like Don and I think to some extent he was also a victim of these unpleasant women and their acolytes. He was, perhaps, the Sir Seton Wills to their Mike Diamandis.

[tans]

That woman in the article has a fucking massive hooter

[Costanza]

That woman in the article has a fucking massive hooter

[Mother Brown]

Just read the Advertiser link posted up by Lambourn Red - thanks for that LR

I'm now wondering why Margaret Rivers has still got their coveted Community Award attached to her name??

Having entered a guilty plea in court last week, it's game over for her now and I believe they should immediately strip her of the award and make it known in public, otherwise any future winner will be tainted and the whole thing will be devalued, assuming its still being awarded every year?.

It will sell more papers for the Advertiser as they can publicise it themselves and most people apart from friends of the thieves would agree with their sentiments.

Mind you, maybe that will prompt Don Rogers to speak out on their behalf against the idea in the Advertiser, again.......

If the £200,000 fraud is proven to be right, and its not £60,000 as claimed, I'd also like to see the Advertiser going after and questioning the ex league chairman and FA approved referee Kevan Williams, who is coincidentally, another good mate of.... you guessed it, Mr Don Rogers (you couldn't honestly make this shit up)

Because they've fiddled £200,000 out of the league, it must have been going on for more than a few years and Williams was puffing his chest out around the town as the chairman for years before that, and with the two thieves working for him at the time (images and stories all over the net).

Not suggesting that this Kevan Williams character was in on the women's fraud or the theft of money, but he must surely be responsible or at least accountable to the FA if it was going on right under his nose as it looks like it was? If not, who takes the rap apart from the criminals above?

Anyway, if there are any Journo's at all left at the Advertiser offices nowadays, get that community award back pronto and strip the thieving bitch of the title

Didn"t  Kev Williams manage the N Wilts u14 rep team a few years back?