Pretoria - A North West attorney, Isak Snyman, 46, has been handed a 10-year sentence by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria for theft of trust funds.
Hawks spokesperson Captain Tlangelani Rikhotso said Snyman was hired in 2010, in Brits, to purchase and register properties on behalf of clients.
“Approximately R4 million (US$270,000) was deposited into his trust account thereafter. Instead of purchasing the properties, the accused misappropriated the funds,” said Rikhotso.
“The matter was reported to the Hawks' serious commercial crime investigation and thorough investigations were conducted, resulting in the suspect being summoned to court.”
Snyman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he repays the money in monthly instalments of R50 000 until the balance is paid in full.
Earlier this month, a Cape Town lawyer was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for defrauding his clients with Road Accident Fund (RAF) claims.
The 53-year-old owner of BA Bauman Attorneys, Brian Albertus Bauman, from Bellville, specialised in RAF claims and used the R14.8 million he stole to feed his gambling addiction.
Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Eric Ntabazalila said the court ordered an investigation to be conducted to determine whether assets could be confiscated from Bauman.
Ntabazalila said Bauman was obliged to open a hold and trust account for his practice and confessed that he had received more than R24.4 million on behalf of his clients from the RAF but only paid out R6.7 million, pocketing the rest.
African News Agency (ANA)