Chantal Arlene Du Plessis (46) appeared in the New Law Court in Gqeberha on 5 July 2021 for allegations of fraud and was released on warning.
It is alleged that Du Plessis who is an attorney of her own firm represented the complainant against the Vorster attorneys where she lost in the case.
The complainant paid over R158 000 as per court order for costs on a civil claim to the trust account of Du Plessis on 12 March 2018. It is reported that Du Plessis redirected money for personal use instead of using it for the intended purpose.
Vorster’s attorneys are reported to have issued a default judgement against the complainant for failure to comply with the court order. It is reported that the assets of the complainant were to be attached to defray costs, Du Plessis then used another client’s money in order to stop the execution on the existing attachment order.
The complainant reported the matter to the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team in Gqeberha for probing which led to the arrest.
Du Plessis made her first court appearance at New Law court and was released on warning with conditions. The case was remanded to 2 August 2021 for copies of the dockets and legal representation.
