Last year, state police arrested a Pennsylvania priest for stealing thousands of dollars in church funds. Lawrence Kozak allegedly spent over $214,000 on his Apple ID, $44,000 of which came directly from the Church’s credit card. He used the majority of his money to pay for slot machine apps but also used his ill-gotten gains to pad his salary and purchase gifts for his family.
In an affidavit, the state police report that there were over 2,000 transactions filed under “gaming” in a document that chronicles the period from September 2019 to June 2022. The Former pastor at Thomas More Parish in Pottstown, PA, had been under suspicion for financial impropriety before. The church manager explained to police that she told Kozak: “I don’t want to see your name in the newspaper.”
Before he was arrested, the priest paid $10,000 towards the card balance from a personal bank account. After he was removed from the Church, he sent a personal note and an additional $8,000 to his successor.”I am so sorry that I made this mistake, which has been any source of stress for you. I have been paying the Credit Card since April when this all started,” the priest wrote, “thank you for your patience!”
In the charging documents, police explained how, “During a conversation with John P. DELANEY, Jr., Esq., he informed me that everything was discovered during a routine audit. An unusually high balance was discovered on the parish credit card for the St. Thomas More Church, which prompted further inquiry.” The accountant explained how he discovered the situation
“Arjun M. DIAS explained that in the regular course of his work, he will help parishes with accounting and QuickBooks. In reference to the St. Thomas More Church, he noted a large credit liability on the balance sheet, and credit card payments were being coded incorrectly, ” Police reported. “DIAS began digging into this and noted things such as an astronomical amount of Apple transactions. DIAS had his staff get every credit card statement since the account was opened. DIAS provided me with a document entitled “Parish Credit Card Activity Sep 2019″
The detective explained what he found in that document,” which contained tabulated transactions and amounts spent in various categories. 2183 transactions were related to a category of spending referred to as “gaming,” with a total amount spent of $40,879.00. In total, 6 personal payments were made by Father KOZAK on the parish credit card balance totaling $10,600.00.”
When he dug into the data: “DIAS also obtained Father KOZAK’s PayPal account and Amazon account information. DIAS recalled having two conversations with Father KOZAK via phone and one in-person meeting with him. In reference to the $10,600.00 in personal payments made by Father KOZAK on the parish credit card balance, these payments were made from an external account not associated with the church.”
The officer reports, “We collected Apple receipts, Amazon receipts, PayPal receipts, and statements from Father Kozak and the St. Thomas More Church in the course of his work. He obtained screenshots of account activity and is aware Father KOZAK utilizes an iPhone and an iPad… The Amazon account Father KOZAK utilizes is in his personal name but linked to the parish credit card. DIAS was able to identify $214,265.00 in expenses associated with Father KOZAK’s Apple ID, and $43,397.00 in Apple expenses were incurred on the parish credit card.”