Jim Bark, a former player, committee man and chairman of Division 3 side Stranraer was told by a sheriff yesterday that his bid to defraud the club of £1000 merited a prison term.
Bark, a first offender, appeared at Kirkcudbright Sheriff Court for sentence after admitting that he formed a fraudulent scheme to obtain the money from the club's lottery draw.
He was told by Sheriff Kenneth Hogg that, after 40 years' service, this conduct had seen a spectacular fall from grace for him. The sheriff said it was an offence against the community, as well as the club, and merited a jail sentence.
"It is always distressing to see examples of trust so painstakingly built up being lost," he said, adding that Stranraer was a community club - built on the efforts of the community - which relied heavily on the integrity of the people involved.
Bark, 59, of Greenfield Row, Stranraer, admitted forming a fraudulent scheme when he appeared at the court on indictment last month.
He admitted obtaining money by claiming to have won the Stranraer FC anniversary draw and that, between April 30 and June 30, 2006, he pretended that a person called Hugh Brown from Paisley had won the draw. Bark admitted entering the ticket after the draw had been made and the winning numbers known in an attempt to induce representatives of the Stair Park club to pay him £1000.
At the previous sitting, not guilty pleas to five other charges of embezzlement were accepted by the Crown.
Agent Arnold Brazenall said Bark genuinely regretted the trouble and effects which had been occasioned against the club, with which he had a distinguished and long association.
Although he realised the effects of the offence, the accused did still have friends who had stood by him and several testimonials had been received. He said Bark and his wife realised the seriousness of the case and, although no money had been obtained as a result, it was a serious breach of trust.
Sentencing Bark to 250 hours unpaid work for the community, Sheriff Hogg warned Bark that failure to comply would likely result in a prison sentence
The sheriff said: "It is the community you have so spectacularly let down. A breach of trust is something you have already regretted and will continue to do so."
He added that Parliament had allowed him an alternative to imprisonment and this was community service.