Former attorney due to appear in Bellville court on charges of fraud and theft

Cape Town - A former attorney will appear in the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Bellville on charges of fraud and theft.

Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said members served the 69-year-old a summons and he is expected to make his first court appearance on September 29, for fraud amounting to more than R1.4 million.

“The attorney is reported to have been contracted as a transfer attorney for various properties on behalf of his client.

“It is alleged that between June 2008 and July 2009, the suspect transferred a large sum of money belonging to his client into his personal trust fund account and later closed his practise in August 2009, without paying the money back to the client.

“It is alleged he misappropriated the funds for personal gain. He was subsequently struck off the roll of attorneys,” said Hani.

In the money laundering charge, the charge sheet states the man “acquired and channelled these funds by transferring it from his trust bank account to the business bank account, with the intent to disguise or conceal the origin of the monies and/or to possess and use the monies to perform transactions”.

Cape Times