The Provincial Police Commissioner of the Western Cape Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile welcomed the harsh sentence imposed on a man who pretended to be an attorney in Oudtshoorn.
Fifty-year-old Dale Ronald Harmse was sentenced to an effective 15 years in prison for fraud, money laundering and impersonating a legal practitioner.
He was sentenced to 15 years for fraud, five for money laundering and three for impersonating a legal practitioner.
The sentences will run concurrently.
Police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie says a charge was laid against him in April of 2020.
He says the complainant was referred to Harmse as being a good advocate who can assist him in legal matters
He convinced the complainant to pay R500 000 into a trust account that turned out to be his personal account.
A month before the case was registered the relationship between them turned sour as he disappeared with the money.
Harmse was arrested in Krugersdorp but transferred back to Oudsthoorn where he was sentenced this week.
