Convicted thief featured in Investigative Unit reports arrested again in credit repair scheme
BATON ROUGE - A man who was the subject of multiple WBRZ reports for his role in a nationwide credit fraud scam is back in jail Tuesday.
Donald Batiste was arrested again after he was accused of running another scheme that involved him offering credit repair services to unsuspecting victims, according to an arrest warrant
An investigation by the Department of Justice discovered that Batiste was advertising the services on Facebook despite being unlicensed in that field. Documents say Batiste would try to charge people upwards of $800 for different plans. One of the victims told investigators that she never heard back from Batiste in reference to her credit score after she gave him the initial payment of $250.
Batiste was previously arrested and issued a cease-and-desist order after he enacted a similar scheme. In 2015, he was accused of taking advantage of more than 300 victims across the U.S. to commit more than $5 million worth of fraud.
After he was convicted on theft charges, he was ordered to pay restitution and placed on probation.
WBRZ spoke to him earlier this year after he was found working at another business that offered a "Fix My Credit Workshop." When questioned, Batiste told us, "I help people start businesses."
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Batiste's newest charges Tuesday include theft, attempted theft, prohibited conduct and taking advanced fees for prohibited acts.