Update: Mark Lifman was murdered in George November 2nd, a mere 5 days before our day in court and 3 days after this frontpage article!
Mafia Boss and murderer Mark Lifman sues me for defamation of character. The Mafia bosses attorney Michael Strauss, partner at Sandton’s Ian Levitt Attorneys firm doubled the damages from R500k to a full R1,000,000 – one million ZAR, because – why not? All 3 legal letters received are saved in this folder.
Old article: Well known mafia boss Mark Lifman intends to sue me for defamation and R500,000 in damages, as I call him out for his alleged role in the 2015 murder of my doorman Joe. He has even managed to convince South African courts to attach my house in Cape Town. On July 21st, I described the extortion that led to Joe’s murder during my appearance on Carte Blanche, South Africa’s leading investigative TV program, which also resulted in the closure of my business after 11 years of operation. Now, Lifman is trying to destroy me by taking my last remaining asset. In this letter received via WhatsApp, he seems offended by many of my recent social media posts.
Despite my public call for a lawyer with balls (or ovaries) I have yet to find someone willing to assist me pro bono in an official capacity. As a result, I’ll need to crowdsource both my defense and the statement required to open a strong criminal case against Mark Lifman.
Mark Lifman’s deep involvement and leadership in the Cape Town underworld have been detailed by reputable organizations like the Institute for Security Studies, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and in the bestseller “The President’s Keepers” by Jacques Pauw. Investigative journalist Caryn Dolley has also featured him in all of her books, and the blog marklifman.com has labeled him as “a brutal gangster, owner of illegal security companies, a murderer, a convicted tax evader and, disturbingly, a child rapist” among other accusations.
It seems none of these organizations have ever been sued for telling the truth, but after I shared my story of the extortion that led to Joe’s murder on June 20, 2015, in the Carte Blanche exposé in July, it must have reached a wide enough audience to annoy Mark Lifman, prompting him to sue me for R500,000 in damages, as if he still has a reputation to uphold.
This 15-minute Carte Blanche episode, which shows explicit pictures of the murder scene, is shared on my Facebook with permission, as it has received limited circulation on Carte Blanche’s YouTube due to age restriction. The full 48-minute interview with me has already been watched over 160,000 times.
His legal team is scrambling, filing lawsuits like this one, desperate to shake off the very real label of extortion and organized crime that has followed him for years.
Lifman’s lawsuit against me shows just how deeply he’s rattled by the truth finally coming to light. He is not just any businessman—he is widely known to operate within Cape Town’s dark underworld, and his connections to extortion are no secret. The fact that he’s now complaining about being identified as such in public discourse only proves how effective I am becoming to him.
Let’s be clear: this lawsuit isn’t about defamation; it’s about silencing those who speak the truth. But the era of silence is over. We’re calling out the extortionists and their enablers, one by one, and Lifman will have to accept that his reputation as a mafia boss is more than well-earned. If he’s offended by being called out as a criminal, he should reconsider his actions that have brought so much harm to local businesses, communities and individuals.
If you are an insider or lawyer, willing to share your knowledge, reach out to me! I am currently 8 hours behind South African time in the US but try my best to respond ASAP.
