An employee of the King David Schools' Foundation is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday after being arrested in connection with fraud involving R2.7-million, the foundation has revealed.
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, but said the staffer was due back in court for a bail hearing.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Tshisikhawe Ndou confirmed that Natalie Sher appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court last Tuesday on a fraud charge. She was remanded in custody pending a bail application on Tuesday.
It is unclear how the fraud was carried out.
The chairman of the board of trustees, Adrian Gore, said auditing firm Pricewaterhouse-Coopers was commissioned to conduct a detailed probe. In a statement on the foundation's website, Gore assured donors that the fraud had no bearing on the funds raised since the foundation was re-launched earlier this year.
"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 poor Jewish pupils attending the five King David schools in Johannesburg.
Each school is partnered with a school from an underprivileged community.
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