Attorney appears in court for alleged theft of over R700 000 meant for RAF beneficiaries

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Published Jun 27, 2022

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Pretoria - A 52-year-old attorney appeared in the Rustenburg Regional Court on Monday for allegedly stealing R700 000 from Road Accident Fund (RAF) beneficiaries.

Betty Diale was practising as an attorney during the alleged commission of the crimes between 2009 and 2011.

The National Prosecution Authority’s (NPA) regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame, said the RAF had received several complaints from claimants whose payments were deposited into Diale's trust account.

“The claimants alleged that the said money did not reach them after the payout and henceforth, reported to the police for investigation,” Mamothame said.

In June 2021, Diale was arrested and charged with six counts of theft, and released on warning.

Her matter was been postponed to August 4, for pre-trial conferencing.

“Investigations into that matter are complete, and advocate Theo Moetaesi is ready to proceed with pre-trial conferencing and subsequently, speedy completion of the trial,” Mamothame said.

In a similar matter in April, the NPA said a former candidate attorney at Malabye Mthembu Attorneys and Partners, 32-year-old Onga Ntozini had been summoned to appear in the Pretoria Specialized Commercial Crimes Court on two counts of theft.

“It is alleged that Ntozini, stole from the law firm by swindling money from the law firm’s trust fund to his account,” said North Gauteng regional spokesperson for the director of public prosecutions, Lumka Mahanjana at the time.

In March, Meshack Mfana who worked at Ndobela Attorneys, was ordered to pay back the amount of R41 000 within 90 days and sentenced to three years in prison by the Sasolburg Regional Court which found Mfana guilty of theft.

The charges emanated from an incident which took place in January 2016 when Mfana instituted a civil claim against the State for unlawful arrest of his client.

“The State then paid the amount of R60 000 to the trust account of Ndobela Attorneys and the client never received the money,” Captain Christopher Singo said.

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