A former Bellville attorney who was sentenced to imprisonment two years ago for defrauding his clients of Road Accident Fund (RAF) claims, has been ordered to pay R62 800 into the State’s Criminal Assets Recovery Account (CARA).

In 2020, the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court sentenced Brian Albertus Baumann of Baumann Attorneys to 12 years behind bars for the fraud.

TimesLIVE reported last year that the Western Cape High Court ordered that Bauman should be struck from the roll of attorneys.

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In an IOL report on Bauman’s sentencing in 2020, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said Baumann was obliged to open a hold and trust account for his practice and confessed that he received money on behalf of his clients from the RAF but only paid out a fraction and pocketed the rest.

Baumann told the court he had a gambling addiction and spent most of the money gambling. He added that he sought help for his gambling addiction.

Ntabazalila said the court ordered that an investigation should be conducted to determine whether any assets could be confiscated from him.

In consultation with the Asset Forfeiture Unit, the State applied for the confiscation of Baumann’s property and assets.

In a statement on Saturday, Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani said the court ordered on Friday that the R62 800 should be paid into the CARA in terms of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act (POCA).

“The order was made against the property of Bauman,” Hani added.