A man who posed as a lawyer to move a bail application for a murder accused has been sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, with an option to pay a R20 000 fine, by the Bethal Magistrate’s Court.

Doctor Sobetha (32) was sentenced for defrauding a client by pretending to be a lawyer for a case and charging R40 000.

According to the Hawks, the incident occurred in 2019 when Sobetha attempted to handle the suspect’s bail application.

However, notes a News24 report, red flags were raised when the prosecutor noted inconsistencies in Sobetha’s arguments.

‘He was requested to prove before court that indeed he was a legal practitioner but failed to produce such proof,’ said Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Magonseni Nkosi.

‘The Secunda-based Serious Organised Crime Investigation members that were in court attended, and an arrest was effected.’

After Sobetha was granted bail in 2024, he went on the run. The Hawks found him in Durban, where he was arrested in May. In court, he pleaded guilty.

Two years of his four-year imprisonment term were suspended for five years on the condition that he is not found guilty of a similar offence.

The court also ordered Sobetha to pay back the R40 000 to the defrauded 'client'.

Sobetha was then re-arrested in court for fraud allegedly committed in Moroka, Gauteng, in 2023.

Major-General Nico Gerber, head of the Hawks in Mpumalanga, warned people to be cautious of bogus lawyers.

‘It is concerning if people are defrauded by people like Sobetha whose formal education does not even go beyond high school level.’

Full News24 report