Attorney remanded in custody for fraud and theft
The attorney who was previously arrested for the alleged theft of a Road Accident Fund claim was remanded in custody after failing to appear in court.
Jo-Anne Mantladi Mmela (42), who was sought by the Hawks for fraud and theft of RAF money, was remanded in custody by the Middelburg Regional Court on Monday, 26 February.
This came after she was rearrested by the Hawks Middelburg-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit on Saturday, 24 February.
It is alleged that the accused, who was an attorney practicing under Mmela and Associates, was appointed to assist with the Road Accident Fund claim on behalf of the complainant’s child.
The accused submitted the claim to RAF, the claim was processed and payments were made into her trust account. The accused redirected the money to someone else’s account and claimed to have made the payments into the victim’s guardian’s account.
The accused was arrested on 20 September 2022 following investigations. She appeared before the Middelburg Magistrates’ Court on 21 September 2022, where she was released on R25 000 bail.
The case was then postponed to 05 December 2022 for further investigation, and that’s when the accused disappeared and failed to appear on the given date.
The Hawks Mpumalanga issued a media statement on Wednesday, 21 February, requesting public assistance in locating the accused. The public assisted, and the accused was traced and arrested in Hammanskraal.
The accused appeared before the Middelburg Regional Court on 26 February and the case was postponed to 04 March 2024 for formal bail application. She was remanded in custody.
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