A "greedy" couple ran a children's football club into the ground by blowing nearly £100,000 of its money.
Michelle and Simon Marshall were the directors of Phoenix Football Youth Club in Southport.
It secured a £75,000 grant for a new clubhouse and had around £41,000 coming in from player subscriptions.
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But while building work stalled and players went without proper equipment, the Marshalls and their three children holidayed in the USA, France and Italy - enjoying meals out, paintballing and boating trips.
Liverpool Crown Court was today told Mrs Marshall, 42, was chairwoman and treasurer, while her 47-year-old husband was the secretary and welfare officer of the club, then based in Russell Road.
Kevin Slack, prosecuting, said it had "basic" facilities, with just a small cabin for changing rooms, with no cooking facilities or disabled access.
That was all set to change when Mrs Marshall successfully bid for £75,000 of Merseyside Police funding in May 2017, previously seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Mr Slack said there was "considerable excitement" among players, parents and fans at the prospect of a new clubhouse and community centre, also to be used for amateur boxing, basketball, coffee mornings and art classes.
Prosecutors didn't allege the application was fraudulent from the outset, but said "very quickly" after the cash was received, Mrs Marshall diverted it to her personal account.
When the force asked for updates she provided "excuses" about delays and provided false documents, suggesting £40,000 had been spent on building materials and there was £36,000 left in the club bank account.
Mr Slack said: "The true balance was just four pence at the time."
Police found less than £5,000 was legitimately spent on a planning application, fencing and a container.
Officers then discovered a further £29,000 in subscription fees, paid between 2016 and 2019 had been stolen by Mrs Marshall, including around £12,500, which the couple jointly took.
Mr Slack said funds were used to pay the mortgage on the couple's family home and on a property Mrs Marshall owned and rented out.
But it also funded foreign holidays, including a trip to America, ahead of which money transferred to Mr Marshall's account - with the reference "fencing works" - was spent on a New York travel pass.
After receiving the money, he text his wife: "Everything is all back to normal in the financial world."
Funding marked "second field renovation" was sent to him when he was seen spending cash at JFK Airport.
Cash went to a Eurocamp holiday and, while in the south of France, they withdrew £4,000 from club accounts.
Mr Slack said the couple, of Alma Road, Birkdale, also enjoyed a three-week holiday in Italy.
The prosecutor said: "It was a common joke at the time the club was funding the Marshall's holiday.
"Little did the parents know the awful truth behind that joke."
When arrested in March 2020, Mrs Marshall admitted stealing the grant, but denied taking any subscriptions.
Mr Marshall said he had discovered his wife had stolen the grant, but hadn't told anyone and denied misappropriating any funds himself.
They were interviewed again in July 2020, when Mrs Marshall came clean over the subscriptions, but her husband gave a no comment interview.
By then a group of parents had taken over the club, renamed it Southport Athletic and relocated to Ferryside Lane, but Mrs Marshall still provided them with a false record of expenses.
Mrs Marshall admitted two counts of fraud, relating to £99,453 in total, and Mr Marshall admitted one count of fraud, relating to £12,686.
Former nurse Mrs Marshall has one previous conviction for theft, in 1999.
Rebecca Smith, defending, said references from four people within the football community described her as "hard working" and spoke of her "genuine remorse and regret" and her "dedication to the football league".
However, she said at the time she was suffering from a debilitating health condition, which "led to a very difficult and dark place".
Ms Smith said her client, who has undergone three heart surgeries and may require a double valve replacement, hadn't dealt with childhood trauma and the death of her mum, which caused her to act "out of character", when in a "vicious circle" of depression, shame and guilt.
The court heard the couple have three children, two aged 16, including their eldest son who has Asperger's syndrome, and a son aged 13, who has a spinal condition, which may need an operation.
Julian Nutter, defending Simon Marshall, said he had "thrown away" his good character.
He said: "He wishes to express remorse for what he's done - perhaps better late than never."
Mr Nutter said jailing his client would have a significant harmful impact on the couple's children.
He said: "Because they live and go to school where all of this happened, they are living with the shame of their parents."
Urging the judge to spare him jail, Mr Nutter said: "There is just room here to give those children a parent - if only for them."
Judge Gary Woodhall told the pair: "The monies that you diverted starved that club of much needed resources.
"It meant there was insufficient funds to provide the children with proper kit and equipment."
He said coaches resorted to paying for equipment out of their own money.
The judge said: "Although a lot of money was going into the club, because of your greed the members were receiving very little in return."
Judge Woodhall said the clubhouse not being built was a "devastating blow" to members.
He said through fundraising and "endless hours of unpaid work", they had managed to keep the club alive.
The judge told the Marshalls: "That was despite your best efforts to run that club into the ground.
"You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourselves, stealing from those children and the local community to fund your own private lives.
"What cannot be replaced, despite all that hard work, is the facility which they were looking forward to being built which would have provided a fantastic community resource - you have denied that community that facility."
Citing the "persistent nature" of her offending, Judge Woodhall jailed Mrs Marshall for two and a half years.
The judge said Mr Marshall - the owner of a car valeting business - accepted he lived beyond his means and the dad said if he was jailed, they would likely lose their family home.
Judge Woodhall handed him 15 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and told him to complete a 30-day Rehabilitation Requirement and 250 hours of unpaid work.
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