Lawyer on fraud, theft charges

Lawyer on fraud, theft charges
PHILANI NOMBEMBE |
23 August, 2011 00:54
Cape Town lawyer has been accused of putting her hands in the cookie jar by defrauding a company of R2-million.
Antoinette Le Roux, 33, was represented by a Legal Aid lawyer when she appeared in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court to answer to fraud, theft and money- laundering charges.

Le Roux allegedly obtained the money from W Capital Finance, which she used as a "bridging finance" company and was supposed to have deposited it into her trust account but allegedly transferred the money into her personal bank account over a nine-month period between 2008 and 2009.

She is also accused of manufacturing "false vouchers" to cover her tracks.

The money was intended for the purchase of school books. The state claims she failed to keep proper accounting records and spent the money.

Le Roux operated a legal practice, A Le Roux and Associates in Paarl and "solely" used the company for "arrangement of bridging finances". According to the charge sheet, Le Roux established a relationship of trust with the company.

"She had created false vouchers and she presented [them] as legitimate, that the payments of books that she was authorising were not supplied nor delivered to the various [schools]," the charge sheet reads.

Magistrate Amrith Chabilall postponed the matter to September 6 to allow Le Roux time to consult her lawyer. She is out on a warning.