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Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen is questioned after plumber finds 'bags and bags' of cash and checks stashed in 500 envelopes in bathroom wall - seven years after $600,000 in donations were stolen from the church
UK Daily Mail ^ | 12/03/2021 | Adriana Diaz

Posted on 12/03/2021 8:31:52 AM PST by DFG

Megachurch pastor Joel Osteen has been questioned by police after 'bags and bags' of cash and checks were found in about 500 envelopes in a bathroom wall at Lakewood Church in Texas.

A plumber who worked at the church and only gave his first name, Justin, called into a Houston radio morning 100.3 The Bull show to tell them about his shocking discovery, which comes seven years after about $600,000 in donations was stolen and hasn't been recovered.

Justin was called in to America's largest church, Lakewood Church, on November 10 to fix a broken toilet, he said.

'There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile,' he explained during the call Thursday morning. 'We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like 'Oh wow!''

He said hundreds of envelopes were filled with cash and checks. Houston police confirmed to DailyMail.com that cash and checks were found in the wall, and that they talked to 'everybody associated with the building' they were able to contact.

In 2014, $600,000 worth of donations were stolen from the church. The amount was just a portion of donations made from one weekend of services and it has never been found.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


TOPICS: US: Texas
KEYWORDS: houston; joelosteen; lakewood; megachurch; osteen; osteenisacriminal
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To: old curmudgeon

Also laying tile is not something done by unskilled persons in the dark of the night.

If I were a cop on this case, the first person I would look for is an ex-employee who knew how to lay tile.


21 posted on 12/03/2021 8:44:22 AM PST by old curmudgeon (There is no situation so bad that the federal government can not make worse.)
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To: DFG

Who last had the bag? Who did the last repair on the bathroom wall? Is it the same person? Is he still alive?

Pieces may be falling into place.

Insurance co. is gonna get it all (more or less).


22 posted on 12/03/2021 8:44:45 AM PST by Migraine
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To: DFG

I cannot stand this guy, but will wait for more facts. I can’t imagine he’d let cash sit there.

Strange doings.


23 posted on 12/03/2021 8:44:54 AM PST by SE Mom (Screaming Eagle Mom)
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To: Yo-Yo

plausible deniability.


24 posted on 12/03/2021 8:45:30 AM PST by knarf (?<p>Little kids grow up to be adults that get into powerful positions and act out their thoughts.<pg)
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To: DFG

This seems unusual.


25 posted on 12/03/2021 8:45:37 AM PST by Fury
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To: DFG

OsteenIdiot suckered sooooooooo many tens of millions of peeps. Many of whom are still in denial.


26 posted on 12/03/2021 8:46:24 AM PST by cranked
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To: Yo-Yo

That seems to be a valid theory.


27 posted on 12/03/2021 8:46:24 AM PST by taxcontrol (The choice is clear - either live as a slave on your knees or die as a free citizen on your feet.)
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To: DFG

I am NOT an Osteen fan . . . quite the opposite. Does not seem to be Osteen at work here, IMHO. Osteen would have had the opportunity and ability to recover at least the cash.

Looks more to me like somebody took it, got spooked and hid it in the wall. As much as I dislike Osteen, I seriously doubt that he did this.


28 posted on 12/03/2021 8:47:38 AM PST by RatRipper (The Biden Adm is leading an attack against US citizens . . . pure evil.)
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To: DFG

He is a fraud and a POS by not letting people into his church after that major hurricane in Houston. The Lord works in strange ways.


29 posted on 12/03/2021 8:49:28 AM PST by duckman ( Not tired of winning!)
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To: DFG

Oh dear, what have we here? SMH.


30 posted on 12/03/2021 8:49:53 AM PST by rockabyebaby ( THE BEST IS YET TO COME - (PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP)
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To: Fido969

> $600,000 was PART of one weekend of donations? <

Look, Mr. Osteen has his own jet and lives in a mansion. Those things are expensive to buy, and expensive to maintain. So pass that collection plate once again.


31 posted on 12/03/2021 8:50:50 AM PST by Leaning Right (The steal is real.)
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To: SES1066
I'm no Osteen fan but you're absolutely right. The loot was found in the church. Doesn't make him guilty of anything.
32 posted on 12/03/2021 8:51:22 AM PST by liberalh8ter (The only difference between flash mob 'urban yutes' and U.S. politicians is the hoodies.)
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To: DFG

Sounds like the plumber don’t know when to be quiet. Just sayin’. 💸😊🙌


33 posted on 12/03/2021 8:51:43 AM PST by rktman (Destroy America from within? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this? 😕)
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To: DFG

Our Father’s house should be a house of prayer. But some have made it a den of theives.


34 posted on 12/03/2021 8:53:20 AM PST by AndyTheBear
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To: SaxxonWoods
Uncashed checks and cash? That sounds like an underling who never came back for the booty. Osteen wouldn’t leave uncashed checks and cash around in his own church, that’s dead money in a dangerous place. He has much better ways to skim if he wants to skim.

Possibly the underling sealed the money and checks in the wall with the intention of retrieving it later, but then died before he could get to it.

Give the plumber credit for doing the right thing. He could have helped himself to some of the cash, then sealed the wall up again.

35 posted on 12/03/2021 8:53:28 AM PST by GreenHornet
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To: DFG

I note the police didn’t charge him.

Sounds like the kind of thing a disgruntled employee would do. Especially since it was tiled over and old teen doesn’t strike me as the handyman type…


36 posted on 12/03/2021 8:53:48 AM PST by aMorePerfectUnion (Fraud vitiates everything ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏⁻ )
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To: Yo-Yo

“Why would anyone stash checks? That’s just ignorant
Somebody stole unopened offering envelopes and stashed them for later retrieval, but apparently never retrieved them.”

Yep. It took me just a few seconds to figure that out.


37 posted on 12/03/2021 8:54:52 AM PST by plain talk
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To: Sequoyah101

Say what you will about the Osteen’s lavish lifestyle but people donate and purchase their products out of their own free will. People get all in a wedgie about his wealth meanwhile the government rips us all off taking big bites out of our incomes and revenues.


38 posted on 12/03/2021 8:54:55 AM PST by tflabo (Truth or tyranny )
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To: DFG
Why would anyone immure a huge amount of cash? Bathroom tile is rather stubborn; for all intents and purposes, permanent.

And I have to say -- yes, it's picky, I know I'm picky -- the use of "was like" is getting embarrassing. "I was like 'Oh wow!'" Can no one say "I exclaimed?" How about "I hollered?"

I replied -- I said -- anybody?

Or should I be grateful he still had the decency to use the past tense while describing a past event?

39 posted on 12/03/2021 8:56:19 AM PST by Buttons12 ( )
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To: DFG

“Don’t wait for pie in the sky, by and by,
when you die...get it now!” (Just send it
to me for safekeeping and you’ll be just alright...)


40 posted on 12/03/2021 8:56:50 AM PST by raccoonradio
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