Despite banning herself from numerous casinos in Gqeberha and attending counselling sessions, a Bay accountant's gambling sprees became so out of control that she stole almost R18m from her previous employer to feed her addiction.
On Wednesday, the court heard how the allure of gambling and the "welcome atmosphere" at casinos, coupled with free food, drinks, and hotel stays when promoted to the VIP lounge had contributed to the downfall of Liezel Badenhorst.
The 44-year-old Badenhorst was found guilty of one count of theft in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court and could face time in prison, despite being a first offender.
Badenhorst pleaded guilty to stealing R17,923,584,68 from the Trust account of Du Toit Attorneys Inc (DTS) between February 2018 and March 2023.
For five years she would steal and replace monies unbeknownst to her previous employer until the fraud division at Absa Bank started sounding the alarm bells in 2022.
She was tasked with accounting functions, specifically managing client investments, and holding operator rights to the DTS Trust and Business bank accounts.
Badenhorst manipulated the books by falsifying financial records and created the false impression that the accounting records were accurately maintained.
The banking details of DTS clients were replaced with her own while monies were freely transferred between accounts.
In her plea agreement, which was read into the court record by Advocate Hannelie Bakker, Badenhorst gave an account of how her gambling, which started in 2010, had landed her in court.
She said she started gambling at the Boardwalk Casino and Galaxy Casino situated at Moffat-on-Main.
"By mid-2013 I had myself banned at the Boardwalk because I had lost too much money.
"I used to gamble away my entire salary and savings, together with the money provided by my ex-husband.
"I could, however, not stay away from the casinos, and following counselling provided to me by the Eastern Cape Gambling Board's psychologist, Kim Castle, I was allowed to resume my gambling after the ban had been lifted, a process that took almost a year."
Also read: Bay accountant in court for alleged theft of more than R18 million
At the end of 2015, and the beginning of 2016, Badenhorst went through the same process of banning herself at Galaxy Casino for a second time, but she was still allowed to gamble at the Boardwalk Casino.
"I banned myself at the Boardwalk Casino for a year too, whereafter I was allowed to gamble there again," she said in her plea agreement.
When the ban expired at the Boardwalk Casino, Badenhorst was "elevated" to their Prive section in 2018 as a result of the loyalty points she earned and accumulated from previous periods.
"This allowed me access to the exclusive VIP lounge, where I would be supplied with food and alcohol, apart from receiving free hotel stays and all sorts of treats.
"I was drinking up to 6 glasses of red wine a night while gambling and I played with increasingly higher amounts.
"Since I joined the Prive section, I was treated as royalty and although I felt that I was winning bigger amounts, I was actually losing even bigger amounts."
Other privileges included two weeks of free accommodation at the Boardwalk Hotel and huge discounted rates.
Badenhorst explained that the theft at the company started small, with R500, but later progressed to R300,000 and R400,000 on four occasions.
Playing the slot machines at 20 cents per spin at first later became R1 000 per spin until Badenhorst would ultimately play R50,000 within 30 minutes.
On one occasion, Badenhorst used the login details of a colleague at the DTS Cape Town office to steal R80,000.
When Badenhorst' previous employer confronted her with the theft on 20 March last year, she admitted guilt and resigned with immediate effect.
She informed them that she had R750,000 in her Capitec Savings Account and offered it to them as repayment.
The complainant took R500,000 and "kindly allowed" Badenhorst to keep R250,000 to survive on.
She also gave the complainant a Volkswagen T Roc vehicle that she had won in a lucky draw at the Boardwalk Casino in July 2022 to limit his loss.
"I was under the impression that the complainant had been insured against financial loss by theft, and I never foresaw that Mr and Mrs Du Toit would have to refund the complainant from their personal assets and finances."
A probation officer and a correctional supervision report will be obtained before sentencing procedures can commence.
The defence has requested that a sentence of correctional supervision be imposed.
Badenhorst's bail of R10,000 was extended until sentencing.
She will appear in court again on 11 November.
