Johannesburg - The High Court in Pretoria ordered a woman, who allegedly used her company's money for online gambling and holidays, to pay R2.3 million back to the non-profit organisation, the Saturday Citizen reported.
The judgement was granted against Lizette Stassen and in favour of her former employer OUT, a non-profit organisation involved in serving the rights lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender community, the newspaper reported.
OUT told the newspaper that Stassen pleaded guilty in the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria to 174 charges of fraud and theft amounting to R1.829 million.
Stassen worked for the organisation since 2006, but resigned in 2010 when the fraud matter was discovered, the newspaper reported.
The organisation alleged that between 2007 and 2010 Stassen misappropriated over R2.6 million, by among others, forging cheques and manipulating OUT's internet banking facility to transfer funds to herself and others.
She also allegedly used the company credit card to pay for goods, including holidays and online gambling.
According to the report, the company said that the incident had led to retrenchments, curtailed projects and lost funders.
Stassen had admitted to stealing the money but has refused to pay it back, according to court papers.
Sentencing would be expected to start next week, the Saturday Citizen reported. - Sapa