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While Prinsloo felt remorse that so many people had lost their money, she felt she had done nothing wrong, clinical psychologist Franco Visser said in a pre-sentencing report.
"She feels very strongly about the view that she did not intend to misuse other people's money... she did not want or intend to break the law."
He said Prinsloo felt that had the trade and industry department and auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers not interfered and closed the business down, she would have succeeded in turning it around.
Visser told the court Prinsloo did not present herself as someone who would break the law again, and it had to be taken into account she was still a parent of an adopted minor.
Social worker Erna Pieterse said the son, aged 15, was not passing at school and hanging around with the wrong friends, and should Prinsloo be jailed his biological father may not be able to look after him.
This would mean he would have to go to an orphanage.
Prinsloo was found guilty in June on 122 000 charges including racketeering, money laundering and fraud.
Her adult son Willem Pelser, her daughter Yolanda Renstra, her husband Gerrit, her niece Izabel Engelbrecht and husband Hendrick were also convicted on thousands of charges.
About R1.5bn was invested in the scheme between 1999 and 2002.
- Sapa
