News24.com | Disbarred attorney charged with fraud for allegedly accepting R21 000 to take on divorce case

A former Free State attorney has been charged with fraud after illegally representing a complainant in a divorce matter.

The Hawks have charged a former Free State attorney with fraud, saying that he accepted 21 000 to represent a man in a divorce matter even though he knew that he had been disbarred.

Free State Hawks spokesperson, Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti, said the 52-year-old former lawyer was disbarred in 2018.

"The complainant allegedly approached the suspect for legal representation [in] his divorce matter and paid R21 000. The suspect failed to inform the complainant that he was disbarred and, therefore, cannot practise as an attorney."

In 2021, the man found out that he had been disbarred years before and reported to the Hawks' Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Welkom.

The former lawyer was charged with fraud, contravention of the Legal Practice Act, and contempt of court.

He is expected to appear in the Sasolburg Magistrate's Court on 7 April.

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