The disgraced dismissed employee of the King David Schools' Foundation who appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court last Tuesday on a fraud charge after R2.7-mil of the Foundation’s funds went missing, has been named as Natalie Sher. She has been held in custody and will appear in a bail hearing this Tuesday.
Sher was named in the Sunday Times yesterday.
Rabbi Craig Kacev, director of the South African Board of Jewish Education and a member of the foundation's board of trustees, would not identify the suspect to the Sunday Times, but confirmed that the staffer was due back in court for a bail hearing.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou, however, confirmed that Natalie Sher had appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court last Tuesday on a fraud charge. She was remanded in custody pending a bail application tomorrow.
No indication of how the fraud was carried out have been released at this stage.
Discovery founder and CEO Adrian Gore (pictured), who is the chairman of the board of trustees of the KDSF, said auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers was commissioned to conduct a detailed probe. Gore has assured donors that the fraud had no bearing on the funds raised since the foundation was re-launched earlier this year.
Read more: GOOD CALL BY TRUSTEES on MyShtetl & THE SUNDAY TIMES STORY
"It has also been established that all donor funds to subsidise school fees of children have also not been affected," Gore said.
"This is charity money, which means every cent is important because it can make a difference. That's why we are so intent on being transparent and following due process to make sure we get that money back.
"It's abhorrent for any staff member working in a position of trust, and specifically for a charity, to do such a thing. This is not something we are going to sweep under the carpet."
The foundation raises funds to subsidise the school fees of Jewish pupils attending the five King David schools in Johannesburg. Each school is also partnered with a school from an underprivileged community.
Once again a Jewish member
Once again a Jewish member of our community has disgraced themself by fraudulently taking money from a company or Jewish charity.
She is only a suspect and
She is only a suspect and this has not been proved in a court of law so be very careful with your comments.
I feel for her husband, kids
I feel for her husband, kids and family at this time.
To Anonymous "Once again a
To Anonymous "Once again a Jewish member" - quite judgemental for a Jewish 'member of the community' don't you think? Clearly you don't grasp the true meaning of the word 'community' - causing you to make such a narrowminded comment. Quite like the reference to 'once again' - what, were you responsible for stealing money on another occasion?
Include your name when you have something meaningful to say - which would explain why you decided to post anonymously.
I would like to pose a
I would like to pose a question to 'Dear Once a Jewish Member', have you seen the evidence that the alleged is guilty, before you point your dirty finger. It is a utter disgrace that people like you can judge so easily before even checking the facts. Open your eyes. The alleged has to be proved guilty not judged in this manner just by facts supplied by the so called company and the press. How would you act or want people of your community to support you in this situation? Would you want them to act in the same way you have? Hypocrite!!