The reader will kindly note, that this article in no way is a criticism of faith nor the faithful, but only a warning that not everyone who counsels against sin follows the manual.
By Egon E. Mosum
In the New Testament, at Matthew 6:20, it is written ‘But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.’
In Matthew 7:15 we are advised, ‘Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.’
Sometimes religious leaders act as if they didn’t get the memo.
Sometimes they aren’t looking for heavenly treasures, but the kind that are supposed to be rendered unto Caesar. Sometimes those pulpit pundits are wearing bespoke sheep’s clothing, paid for by sheep they have shorn.
In other words, not every person in a dog collar is as loyal as a dog to their flock of believing souls.
Sometimes they act more like the kinds of animals into which their King of Kings sent the demons he exorcised in Gadara.
Or, to be less fancy, there are priests who pilfer, reverends who rip off the offerings…
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Let’s take a look under the cassock for some examples.
The reader will kindly note, that this article in no way is a criticism of faith nor the faithful, but only a warning that not everyone who counsels against sin follows the manual.
Just before Thanksgiving, 2024, the Pennsylvania Attorney General issued a press release about ‘Father George Athanasiou, of the Greek Orthodox Church who ‘pleaded guilty to felony theft regarding misappropriations of hundreds of church donation checks.’
He made restitution in the amount of $155,000.00.[1]
Apparently this Orthodox priest was somewhat unorthodox in his interpretation of Matthew 6:20.
It appears that the good ‘Father” was a degenerate gambler, and for his penance received a sentence of ‘serve 12 months with electric home monitoring, five years probation, and 300 hours of community service.’[2]
Another Pennsylvania priest, in 2019, was arrested for allegedly stealing approximately $100,000. The money allegedly paid for the travel expenses and gay romantic partners of Father Joseph McLoone.
That amount being deemed insufficient by the good father, he also doubled his stipend for saying masses and presiding at weddings and funerals.
Seems like that vow of poverty, chastity and obedience didn’t sit well with Father McLoone. He operated within the jurisdiction of the diocese of Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, but the love the priest was seeking (allegedly) wasn’t all that brotherly.[3]
In 2021, the allegations turned into a conviction, and the priest was sentenced to five years probation — the first nine months consisting of house arrest. He also had to ‘repay $30,892 in restitution, perform 300 hours of community service, undergo a mental health assessment and receive any indicated treatment, provide a DNA sample and write letters of apology to St. Joseph Parish and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.’[4]
Lest we leave the impression that Pennsylvania is a hotbed of ‘clerical errors’, let’s journey to some other states where we find our priests and/or reverends in something less than a state of grace.
In March of 2024 in the state of New York, ‘Father Robert Henry, 75, was sentenced last year to five years probation, after he pled guilty to stealing $270,155 from his parish, St. Matthew & Our Lady of Perpetual Help.’
Amazingly, his sentence did not include restitution.[5]
Let’s return to Pennsylvania again, because this one is worth reporting.
Father Lawrence Kozak, was, in 2024, ‘accused of stealing more than $40,000 from the church to play Candy Crush and slot games, according to authorities.’[6]
They may say it never rains in southern California, but no, that’s not true, because in Oxnard, southern California, just a few days before the writing of this article, the skies were at least kind of cloudy for Curtis Frank Lemons, ‘a former assistant pastor at a California church was sentenced to two years in state prison on Friday for stealing $200,000 from his congregation as its founder was dying.’
He pleaded guilty in April 2025 to counts of felony grand larceny and one count of money laundering. He used the money for ‘flights, a car, a new phone, dental work, and a new home in Tennessee.’[7]
In Maryland, Pastor Daniel Champ proved himself to be anything but a champ, because in May, 2025 he was, ‘accused of stealing one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars from his Baptist church.’
He spent it on Door Dash, Pay Pal and sports betting.[8]
Now, in the interest of fairness, let us not leave out a rabbi.
Peter Light, (who was rather a dark personality), in 2007, ‘was sentenced to five years in prison for stealing more than $86,000 from a fund to help the needy.’
He had been ripping off his congregation for three years prior to his sentencing.[9]
Perhaps the only bright spot in this otherwise bleak survey of the sinful is the money stolen wasn’t used to in any way exploit innocent children.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
We are quite used to reading stories about crooked politicians. It’s old news, even when it’s new news. We expect it in these times.
But much of the United States consists of people who believe in a god, and who look to the leaders of their various congregations for spiritual counsel and life guidance.
Yes, stories about child abuse and church cover-ups are frequent, but less frequently exposed to the public are the stories about the out and out thievery committed by men ‘of the cloth.’
These hypocrites who preach the bible from a pulpit, who instruct their congregation to avoid temptation, were busy stealing from the basket or the poor box, and spending their ill-gotten gains on travel, gambling, and gay lovers.
They were getting away with it for years, and we are not talking about the obviously phony televangelists, we are talking about local clergy in local congregations who had one hand up in blessing, and the other in the pockets of their flock.
In these times when faith itself is challenged, when there is a growing atheism in America, (whether or not you think that is a good thing or a bad thing), what is inarguable is that people put in a position of trust by people of faith, are cynically stealing from the people who believe in god, and at one time, believed in them.
So, the question must be asked, when our politicians are self-dealing thieves and liars, (at least a significant portion of them), and our religious leaders are stealing from their congregations, (at least some of them), in whom do we trust?
Sources:
[1] WASHINGTON COUNTY PRIEST PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING CHURCH DONATIONS, PAYS $155K IN RESTITUTION 11/14/24 https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/washington-county-priest-pleads-guilty-to-stealing-church-donations-pays-155k-in-restitution/
[2] Stanish, 2/19/25 CBS NEWS https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/priest-sentenced-stealing-over-100k-guilty-plea-gambling-addiction/
[3] Catholic priest allegedly stole church money for personal travel, Grindr dates Aviles, 8/22/19 https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/catholic-priest-allegedly-stole-church-money-personal-travel-grindr-dates-n1045336
[4] Matthew Gambino, 10/3/21, Catholic Philly.com https://catholicphilly.com/2021/10/news/local-news/former-pastor-of-downingtown-parish-sentenced-for-theft/
[5] NY priest status unclear after $270k parish theft 3/8/24 THE PILLAR https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/ny-priest-status-unclear-after-270k
[6] Catholic priest stole $40K of church money to play Candy Crush, slot machine games, police say Akim Powell 4/29/24 KKTV https://www.kktv.com/2024/04/29/catholic-priest-stole-40k-church-money-play-candy-crush-slot-machine-games-police-say/
[7] Pastor stole $200k from church as founder lay dying and spent it on flights and a new home John Marcus, 6/28/25 THE INDEPENDENT https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/oxnard-stole-church-curtis-lemons-b2778919.html
[8] Kim Roberts, 5/8/25 MINISTRY WATCH https://ministrywatch.com/md-pastor-charged-with-stealing-more-than-100k-from-church/
[9] Marlboro rabbi gets 5 years for stealing $86G 5/4/07 NJ.COM https://www.nj.com/ledgerupdates/2007/05/marlboro_rabbi_gets_5_years_fo.html
*Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur.
The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period.
In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. Mode Mobile has filed a Form C with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its offering, a copy of which may be obtained here: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1748441/000164117225025402/ex99.pdf