Lawyer’s ex-wife jailed for Road Accident Fund fraud

The Gqeberha specialised commercial crimes court sentenced a bookkeeper for Road Accident Fund (RAF) fraud amounting to R500,000 on Friday.

Bernice Viljoen, 55, the ex-wife of lawyer Dewald Viljoen, was sentenced to two years of correctional supervision, which includes house arrest. A four-year jail term was suspended for three years.

Viljoen was a bookkeeper at her ex-husband’s law firm, Dewald Viljoen Attorneys, between 2009 and 2011 when the fraud happened.

The Hawks swooped on the couple in 2016 after several complaints.

“The employer was a registered attorney and held a trust account which was solely intended to be used for the safekeeping of deposited monies which was received by him on behalf of his clients. Various deposits were made into the trust account,” said Hawks spokesperson Capt Yolisa Mgolodela.

“These deposits were related to RAF claims, property sales and debt collections. The monies were never distributed to the rightful beneficiaries but rather into Dewald Viljoen Attorneys' business account and Boerdery bank account. Bernice as the bookkeeper of the practice was aware of the unlawful misappropriations.”

Mgolodela said investigations showed that the victims were cheated out of R500,000. Dewald Viljoen is still on trial.

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