Quinton Mtyala
RONALD Bobroff went from a high-flying personal injury lawyer to fleeing South Africa along with his son Darren, accused of fleecing millions from their clients who had received payouts from the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
RAF spokesperson Than-deka Ngwenya said the investigation into the Bobroffs dated back to 2011 when the fund received numerous complaints from claimants.
For years Ronald Bobroff had dished out legal advice to callers of CapeTalk and 702, and was a regular on SABC3’s now cancelled afternoon chat show 3Talk.
The father and son are believed to have fled to Australia where both are admitted as attorneys. Bobroff’s wife Elaine was arrested on Tuesday at OR Tambo International Airport while attempting to board a flight, possibly to join her husband and son.
The Bobroffs join a list of fugitives from South African justice who have fled to Australia including Ponzi scheme boss Barry Tannenbaum and John Stratton, who had been implicated in former mining magnate Brett Kebble’s looting of resources company JCI.
Hawks spokesperson Robert Netshiunda said Elaine Bobroff appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, charged with fraud.
She was released on R50 000 bail on condition that she hands over her travel documents and reports to the police once a week until her next court appearance on July 1.
In February, the Law Society of the Northern Provinces allegedly found evidence that the two lawyers, acting as Bobroff & Partners, had committed a number of unlawful practices, including overcharging accident victims claims against the RAF. In one instance Bobroff & Partners had represented Jennifer and Matthew Graham, who were charged more than the Contingency Fees Act allowed. They complained to the Law Society in 2011 that they had been overcharged. Matthew Graham had suffered brain injuries in a 2006 accident and Bobroff & Partners obtained a R1.9 million settlement and a cost of R300 000 from the RAF.
While the Contingency Fees Act restricted lawyers fees to 30 percent of any award paid out, the Grahams were only paid R1.1m. The Bobroffs allegedly kept the remaining 40 percent of the settlement (R860 000) and the R300 000 for legal fees, including doctors the firm claimed had been used to obtain the settlement.
The Bobroffs had justified their overcharging, arguing that the fee agreements were allowed in terms of common law and that these were sanctioned by the Law Society of the Northern Provinces. They claimed that many other personal injury lawyers also charged fees beyond the limits allowed by the Contingency Fees Act.
These complaints now form part of the criminal investigation by the Hawks.
Ngwenya said while the extent of the Bobroff’s alleged fraud had yet to be determined, the fund had identified suspected fraud cases which amounted to R178m during the 2014/2015 financial year.
On the Bobroff’s company website Bobroff senior boasted that he holds qualifications in Arts, Law and Psychology from the University of Witwatersrand and is an admitted attorney in Australia and Israel.
Ronald Bobroff’s attorney in his numerous civil matters, Rael Zimmerman, confirmed he had bought their legal practice.
“I’m still his attorney, only in the civil proceedings.”
@mtyala