An attorney linked to fraudsters who preyed on Durban pensioner Mike Mossop, intent on plundering his estate, has been struck off the roll.
Mossop, the father of KwaZulu-Natal judge Rob Mossop, secured an urgent high court order to compel the department of home affairs to reverse its records and record him as still being alive.
This after fraudsters, using a fake death certificate and other documents, managed to secure letters of executorship from the Pretoria Masters Office.
The lawyer acting on behalf of the scammers was Jacob Abel Masingi, operating in Pretoria under the name AJ Masingi Incorporated.
In an interview with TimesLIVE, he claimed to be innocent, saying three people came to his office with the relevant documents, original IDs and death certificate.
“We didn't know it was a scam,” he said, saying he reported the matter to the police.
However, Legal Practice Council spokesperson Kabelo Letebele confirmed at the time that there were a number of complaints against him and the council was taking legal action.
In a ruling handed down earlier this month, Pretoria high court judge Cynthia Pretorius granted an order striking Masingi off the roll of attorneys “to safeguard the unsuspecting public”.
Pretorius was dealing with an urgent application brought by the council to suspend Masingi or strike him off the roll.
This followed a complaint by a Ms Bopape, who said she deposited R350,000 into his trust account, which went missing.
This led to an investigation by Philansade Nyali, a chartered accountant employed as an auditor by the council.
Nyali, in his subsequent report, said he had trouble getting Masingi to co-operate and hand over the required documents.
At one stage he claimed to have been locked out of his office because he had not paid the rent.
After eventually getting all the documents required, it appeared monies had been transferred from Masingi’s trust account into his business account, and that as of November 2022 there was a deficit of R340,000 in the trust account, money which Masingi had “misappropriated”.
Masingi was also practising without a Fidelity Fund Certificate, which Pretorius said placed at risk those who used his services.
She described Masingi’s conduct as unprofessional and dishonourable, and said the fact that he repaid Bopape made no difference.
Meanwhile, seven other complaints were received about Masingi relating to money missing in conveyancing transactions, though the council did not use these in its quest to suspend or strike him off the roll.
Hawks spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbombo said home affairs confirmed an investigation into the Mossop matter is ongoing.
Home affairs has ignored repeated requests for comment.
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