Hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and checks along with parishioners’ credit card information were stolen from Pastor Joel Osteen’s church over the weekend, leaving the house of worship “heartbroken” over the missing funds.
In a statement put out by Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, megachurch officials said that they are working with authorities to fully investigate the crime, noting that the theft was limited to tithes given to the church over the weekend.
“We were heartbroken to learn today that funds were stolen from the church over the weekend,” the church said. “This includes cash, checks and envelopes containing written credit card information, and it is limited only to those funds contributed in the church services on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014.”
Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties told the Houston Chronicle that $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks were taken from the church safe sometime between Sunday and Monday. It was a Lakewood employee who initially discovered the theft.
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SOURCE: The Blaze
Billy Hallowell
