John Stokes jailed for social welfare theft

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

John Stokes was resentenced for theft at the Court of Appeal, reported on 20 July 2018, receiving four-and-a-half years with all but 18 months suspended.

The court found that the fraud involved €55,000 in Jobseekers Allowance and €47,000 in Rent Allowance. Stokes had pleaded guilty to sample counts after being charged with 343 theft offences, and the Court of Appeal found no exceptional circumstances justifying full suspension of the sentence.