Arthur Batistis jailed for theft and social welfare fraud

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Arthur Batistis was jailed for ten months for theft and social welfare fraud at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, reported on 13 February 2024.

He retained an American customer’s card details after she supplied them to buy flowers, then made unauthorised payments and stole $1,000. The theft came to light when she noticed the payments.

Batistis also claimed €17,000 in pandemic unemployment payment and just over €10,000 in jobseeker’s allowance despite receiving sufficient income to qualify for neither. Judge Martin Nolan cited his co-operation, lack of previous convictions and good work history when sentencing him.