Doctor Sobetha has been sentenced for impersonating an attorney.
Image: File
The Bethal Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga has sentenced a 32-year-old man to four years in prison for impersonating a lawyer and defrauding a client of R40,000.
The sentence, which was handed down on Thursday, includes an option for Doctor Sobetha to pay a fine of R20,000.
Provincial spokesperson, Lieutenant-Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, detailed how Sobetha had perpetrated this scam back in 2019, when he attempted to file a bail application on behalf of a client facing murder charges.
During the court proceedings at that time, Nkosi noted that the state prosecutor quickly became suspicious of Sobetha's arguments. He was requested to prove before the court that indeed he was a legal practitioner but failed to produce such proof.
"The Secunda based Serious Organised Crime Investigation members that were in court attended and an arrest was affected. The matter was referred to the Hawks Secunda based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation for further investigation," said Nkosi.
Sobetha was granted bail in 2024, and then went on the run.
He was re-arrested in May 2025 in Durban.
"When appearing for the second time on Thursday, June 5, 2025, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years imprisonment with an option to pay R20, 000 fine. Two years of his four years, imprisonment was suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of a similar offense," said Nkosi.
He was also ordered to pay back the R40, 000 that he unlawfully received from his client.
"He is expected to pay back the money in monthly installments of R3,000 until the last cent is paid up."
Meanwhile, Nkosi reported that Sobetha was immediately re-arrested for a 2023 fraud conviction in Moroka, Soweto.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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