Dial Lowestoft and Waveney says it almost had to shut down because of the crime, which was carried out over more than six years
A former treasurer of a Suffolk-based disability charity has pleaded guilty to a £212,000 fraud against the organisation.
Neil Payne, 51, from Lowestoft, Suffolk, pleaded guilty at Ipswich Crown Court on Wednesday to one count of fraud by abuse of position during his time as treasurer of Dial Lowestoft and Waveney.
According to a statement from the charity, Payne defrauded it of £212,639.52 between 2010 and January this year.
The statement from the 31-year-old charity said the fraud almost caused it to close.
David Savill, service manager at Dial, said: “There was a risk it could have closed. But the trustees and employees decided very early on that we wanted to keep going it going.
“We are finding just enough funds to keep going, but in the coming months the Charity Commission will require us to build up our reserves.
“If the charity was not here, a lot of people would not have access to the assistance they are entitled to.”
But Savill said that the charity still had “less than half of the £120,000 it requires to operate each year”.
According to the charity’s entry on the Charity Commission website, Dial had an income of £137,266 and spent £119,288 in the year to 3 October 2016.
Payne will be sentenced on 6 July.