A DISBARRED LAWYER RELEASED ON BAIL AFTER DEFRAUDING CLIENTS

A DISBARRED LAWYER RELEASED ON BAIL AFTER DEFRAUDING CLIENTS

The Wynberg Magistrates Court has granted the barred Cape Town lawyer, Zeenat Mohamed, R50 000 bail and transferred her case to the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. Mohamed, who practiced under the name and style of Zeenat Mohamed Attorneys (Pty) Ltd, is charged with two counts of fraud, forgery, uttering, and two counts of money laundering. Mukaddam Ahmed Kagee Attorneys (MAK Attorneys) is registered on the panel of attorneys for banking institutions that attend to mortgage loans and cancellations on behalf of bank institutions at the Deeds Office in Cape Town.
The state alleges that on 21 July 2020, MAK Attorneys received a request from the accused to cancel a mortgage bond held by a, over an immovable property on Rokeby Road, Crawford. The request for the bond cancellation was an agreement of sale between a seller and a purchaser for the property and the purchase price was R4, 3m which included R2, 5m for the property, and R1, 8m for the movable assets of the property.
On 21 August 2020, Mohamed forwarded an Attorney Letter of Undertaking to MAK Attorneys which served as security for payment of the bond cancellation to cover and settle the outstanding amount due on the bond, which was R 4, 38m. Three days later, MAK Attorneys issued a Letter of Undertaking to the bank taking responsibility to pay the bank the due amount owing to the bond as of the date of registration. The amount to settle the bond was to be paid from the funds received by the accused into her trust account on registration. An acknowledgment of debt was signed between the accused and MAK Attorneys and mandated payment to be made to MAK Attorneys’ bank account.
On 01 December 2020, the accused sent proof of payment of R4,38 million to MAK Attorneys, and on receipt of the proof of payment from the accused, the law firm canceled the mortgage bond over the immovable property and proceeded to register at the Deeds Office. MAK Attorneys never received the funds. Investigations revealed that the legal practitioner and conveyancing attorney transferred the R4,38m into one of the 11 bank accounts she managed and controlled which were in her legal practice’s name and a personal capacity as well as bank accounts not in her name to perform inter-account electronic transfers to move monies to conceal and disguise the true nature or source of income. The proof of payment reflecting payment was fabricated and false.
MAK Attorneys were not the accused’s only victims in her two months spree of fraud activities. On 10 November 2020, a potential property owner deposited R2m and R100 000 transfer fees into the accused’s bank account for a R2, 25m property in Rondebosch. She requested the purchaser to deposit that amount into her bank account. On 12 February 2021, the purchaser canceled the deal and requested total repayment of his monies due to the failure of the accused to register the property in his name. The accused was unable to do so as the monies were not held in her trust account.
The state alleges that the accused informed the complainant, following requests, that she misappropriated the funds held in trust. The fidelity fund has only paid out the R2, 25m.
During the trial, the state will argue that she was cunning in that she created a false proof of payment which induced MAK attorneys to cancel the bond, which held them liable for R4.3 million when the property came up at the Deeds Office to be registered. She was in a position of trust as a legal practitioner and abused this position, especially her long-standing professional relationship with MAK Attorneys. The misappropriation of the monies totals an amount of R6.6 million over two months.

As a result of allegations against her, on March 2021, the Legal Practice Council (LPC), brought an urgent suspension application against her for alleged misappropriation of trust monies. On 15 March 2023, she was struck from the Roll of Attorneys and Conveyancers of the High Court. Mohamed will make their first appearance at the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 23 May 2023.