A SECURITY guard is fleeing from loan sharks after borrowing money to bury his father.
Ironically, all because another fraudster reportedly stole R730 000 from the deceased estate’s trust account and disappeared without trace.
A visibly distraught Sipho (surname withheld) attended the Zululand Observer’s offices after knocking-off from night shift, in the hope of finding some financial aid, bridging finance or advice.
‘They want their money and they keep on calling and calling. I can’t sleep. Tonight I am working again, but this thing is chasing me.
‘My father passed away in January 2015, shortly after he received his pension from his company in Pongola in November.
‘When we wanted to bury him, we discovered his burial policy had been cancelled, but when we checked his bank account, he had R730 000 from the Provident Fund.
‘I then decided to borrow R15 000 from the loan company to bury him, seeing there were sufficient funds to pay back the capital with interest.
‘The company advised us to get a lawyer to deal with the estate, because it was such a large sum.
‘We then hired a Durban-based lawyer (name known to the Zululand Observer), who helped my uncle’s children in 2012.’
But, to his shock, the lawyer vanished without a trace – leaving the trust account without a cent.
Sipho says he reported the matter to the KZN Law Society, who reportedly said they also could not trace him.
‘I will be able to recover the money from the Attorney’s Fidelity Fund, but it will take a couple of months for them to finalise their investigation.
‘Unfortunately, the sharks want to hear no more stories. They just want their money.
‘I am the only breadwinner. The rest of my family is unemployed and there is no-one to help me.
‘My mother is very ill because of the thing that happened to us – my father worked his whole life so she could have something.
‘I can’t even feed my family on my earnings and there is no way for me to come up with such a large amount.’
Meanwhile, the Zululand Observer has requested confirmation from the KZN Law Society that a complaint was indeed lodged against the attorney, and if so, whether it was the only complaint and how long the investigation is expected to continue.
At the time of going to print, their official response was still awaited.
Losses covered by the fund include theft of money from deceased or insolvent estates, money held pending registration of the transfer of immovable property, or settlements in personal injury claims.
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