A little black book in which a Gqeberha woman kept account of exactly how some of the monies her husband had received from a Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim was spent, simply to keep her in-laws in check, proved to be a key piece of evidence in the trial of the lawyer who allegedly pocketed some of the money.
The State alleges that former Gqeberha attorney, Shaun Masimla stole from two of his clients who he successfully assisted with RAF claims.
On the first count his client, Edison Cunningham was involved in a serious car accident in April 2000 that left him paralysed.
During 2001 a law firm instituted a claim against the RAF on Cunningham's behalf.
When there was no progress made in the case by 2011, Cunningham's wife, Berenice, approached Masimla to take over the matter.
The RAF eventually compensated Cunningham in the amount of more than R3.5m, which was paid into Masimla's trust account in 2012.
The state alleges that over time, Masimla only paid R1.1m of the total amount to the complainant.
During her testimony on Monday, Berenice told the court that she jotted down everything in a little black book so that her inlaws could not accuse her of misappropriating her husband's money.
Her notes included money she had received from Masimla at various stages of the claims payout process and how much she was yet to receive.
She said she reported the matter to the Hawks in 2015 after Masimla told her that she would walk away with R1m after the deduction of his contingency fee of 25%.
According to the witness, Masimla's calculations did not make sense.
The court further heard that at one point a civil claim was lodged against Masimla when he allegedly reneged on a repayment agreement with the Cunninghams despite signing an acknowledgment of debt.
During the cross-examination of Masimla's attorney, Danie Gouws, Berenice conceded that monies were paid out after she opted to hire Masimla as her attorney.
She further conceded that Masimla had been open and transparent with her, by informing her every time his firm received a payment on her husband's behalf.
Gouws put it to the witness that she had signed loan agreements with the accused and that it was evident that the two of them had an agreement.
He said the defense is in possession of voice notes which prove that the witness kept contacting Masimla asking him for money, even after she had already reported the matter to the Hawks.
On the second count, Sindiwe Mdutyana appointed Masimla to submit a claim for loss of support to the RAF, after the death of her husband in a fatal car accident in July 2010.
The widow appointed Masimla in August 2014. In January 2018 the RAF paid out more than R650 000.
The state alleges that the accused only paid an amount of R80 000 to the complainant and that he misappropriated the rest.
In 2019, the Legal Practise Council assisted Mdutyana in instituting a claim against their Fidelity Fund.
The fund compensated her with more than half a million rand for the loss she and her children suffered at the hands of the accused.
The trial continues.
