A story that has rocked the community, Reverend Lawrence Kozak,51, a former priest of Pottstown, Pennsylvania’s St. Thomas More Church, has been arrested for an astonishing embezzlement: more than $40,000 accused of missing church funds have been associated with shady mobile games. . These games included Wizard of Oz and Candy Crush pinball slots, Cash Frenzy, the Mario Kart Tour, and Pokémon Go.
Former priest arrested for allegedly spending $40K in church funds on Candy Crush PIC.TWITTER.COM/GS4WKKVEB1
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) APRIL 30, 2024
After an internal investigation, which showed Kozak’s gaming addiction and disrespect for the church’s money, Kozak was fired from working there in November 2022. However, when his successor started their duties, Kozak sent an $8,000 check for “parish reimbursements” to the new head of the church. The envelope also contained a message written by Kozak in which he apologized to the new priest for a “mistake” and promised to pay off all the money he owed to the church.
The fraud was revealed when, during the examination of the church’s finances, an accountant of the church identified an “astronomical amount of Apple transactions” associated with the parish credit card. In the warrant questioning with detectives, Kozak stated that he did not fraudulently use a church credit card. He argued that the credit card was connected to his mobile device for software and streaming purchases for the church.
The defendant’s financial records point to the fact that he used his personal money to curb part of the credit card debt; some $10,000. Similarly, after he was arrested, the alleged criminal defendant paid another $8,000 to his church and attached an apology .
Kozak explained the unintentional spending on Candy Crush, mobile games, and others as a shortcoming of detailing. He mentioned: “a detail failure, feeling poorly for taking things to this level. But, I don’t have an excuse-none. I was not paying attention, and I should have been.”
Investigator John Doe said,
“This is a clear case of abuse of power. The funds were meant for the church and the community, not for personal indulgences.” Meanwhile, a church official, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed their disappointment, “It’s a sad day for our church. We trusted Rev. Kozak, and he let us down.”
This case is a powerful reminder of the dangers of digital transactions and the necessity of financial control in all organizations. The parishioners and members of the community can only wait for the investigation to finish and justice to be served.
