A man who allegedly posed as a lawyer on Facebook, conning unsuspecting clients in the process is set to spend another week behind bars before his bail application is heard on June 27.
The South African 33-year-old man, Makhetha Mathumba‚ appeared at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Tuesday where he is facing charges of fraud and impersonating legal representatives.
Mathumba is alleged to have masqueraded as a lawyer for six years and fleeced his victims of more than R1.5 million intends to plead guilty to charges against him.
Investigations revealed that Mathumba was not a qualified lawyer and had only a matric certificate.
His Facebook account said he was a qualified advocate who graduated with a master’s degree in Constitutional and Criminal Litigation from the University of Witwatersrand‚ and an LLB degree from the University of Cape Town.
However, the university confirmed that it didn’t have a record of Mathumba registering there. Mathumba’s Facebook profile picture is of him wearing a lawyer’s robe at the high court in Joburg.
An alleged victim from Cosmo City, Zodwa Ziqubu said Mathumba told her to deposit R2 500 at Shoprite, which she claimed she did. Ziqubu said Mathumba told her the money was an urgent fee that needed to be paid to the Bar.
She said Mathumba kept asking for more money but she instead reported him to the Department of Justice.
South Africa’s Justice Department spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga confirmed that Ziqubu was not Mathumba’s first victim.
Mhaga also confirmed that Mathumba’s name did not appear on the roll of advocates.
He was arrested after a client he was representing opened a case against him when he failed to appear in court.
