₦airaland Forum

A conman Catholic cleric raised at least $650,000 for overseas medical clinics he claimed to operate, but in reality used the donations to his bogus charities to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included heavenly meals, trips to the Hamptons and plastic surgery, federal authorities allege. Pawel Bielecki, known as “Father Paul,” claimed he ran medical clinics in war-torn Lebanon, but he was 5,600 miles away in Manhattan. “Bielecki exploited his position as a friar to gain the trust of victims across the country and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them,” said Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which collared the clergyman on Aug. 17 on charges of wire and mail fraud. For the past eight years, the priest preyed on the compassionate, soliciting donations on local radio shows and crowdfunding websites for non-existent Lebanese hospitals and ambulances, authorities said.

The friar liar specifically exploited the horrific Aug. 4, 2020 chemical explosion in Beirut, which killed 218, to fill his coffers. No one has yet been held accountable for the blast, where Bielecki claimed he was injured. But prosecutors said he wasn’t even there — and “made several purchases at coffee shops, restaurants and other businesses” in Manhattan the day of the disaster. In fact, he did not leave the US between December 2019 and April 2022, they said. Friar Buck would direct his marks in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and Florida to send checks to his friary with “Fr. Paul Bielecki’s Mission” in the memo line, the feds said.

He would also sweet-talk victims into sending donations by mail to “St. Francis in Beirut Inc.”— a non-profit Bielecki established at the Manhattan friary where he resided. Between December 2017 and February 2024, the friar withdrew almost $50,000 in cash from his bank accounts; transferred more than $600,000 to two credit card companies to pay for personal expenses, including $334 per month for a luxe gym membership; forays to the Hamptons and “numerous meals at high-end restaurants,” the complaint says. He also committed the cardinal sin of vanity by shelling out at least $15,000 on liposuction surgery, authorities said. His lies could fill a confessional.

At different times he claimed to be a surgeon or a United Nations researcher, and the 48-year-old cleric used multiple aliases, including “Dr. Phaakon Sonderburg-Glucksburg.” In September he legally changed his name to “Paul HRH Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” — with “HRH” standing for “His Royal Highness,” authorities said. “He’s the George Santos of the cloth,” said a source familiar with the investigation. Bielecki tugged at the heartstrings of good-willed people to get them to open up their wallets.

In 2018, he told the Salaam Club of New York and the Rotary Club of Verrazano: “Doctors are being taken along the Syrian border. I was supposed to have had four physicians with me but they are in jail now,” according to a story in the Brooklyn Reporter. A Pennsylvania woman and her husband transferred $84,000 to Bielecki’s bank account between June 2020 and October 2023, the feds said. The woman emailed Bielecki on Christmas Eve 2021, wishing him and “the people of Lebanon . . . many blessings of consolation and peace during this Holy Season.” Two weeks later, Bielecki replied that he was “buying a new ambulance” that would “allow [him] to visit villages far north and provide medical help.” The woman emailed back expressing her happiness that “the many prayers for an ambulance were answered” — and wired Bielecki another $10,000. The cagey cleric followed up with her the day after Valentine’s Day, writing, “God is great. The ambulance is OK to go . . . I already did a few villages with medical help. People were crying . . . God bless you both every day . . . every minute — Love Fr. Paul.” In reality, Bielecki had just gone to a “body contouring examination” at a NYC liposuction clinic, where he scheduled his $15,000 plastic surgery on March 8, the feds said. A week after procedure, Bielecki, perhaps feeling like a million bucks, made a $1,000 cash withdrawal and went on a shopping spree at a high-end Manhattan men’s clothing store, court docs show.

Read more here: https://nypost.com/2024/08/24/us-news/conman-cleric-father-paul-used-650k-in-donations-for-phony-charity-to-fund-lavish-lifestyle-plastic-surgery-feds/

Priest no go chop?

fraudster in robe wanted all the blessings for himself....

😅...the 48-year-old cleric used multiple aliases, including
“Dr. Phaakon Sonderburg-Glucksburg.” In September he legally changed his name to “Paul HRH Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” — with “HRH” standing for “His Royal Highness,”

This one is strong jare.

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Na who Dem catch be thief Sha, many pastors are like this conman here in Nigeria

Melodydoctor:
This one is strong jare.

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It's the irony of a fraud commenting about another, for me

Gadafii:
See format.

Na who Dem catch be thief Sha, many pastors are like this conman here in Nigeria

Why drag Nigeria into this. It's got not a single thing to do with this Nation, and yet in your negative obsession with Nigeria, you still figured out bringing us into it.
Yet you are a Nigerian

Ejebleje:
It's the irony of a fraud commenting about another, for me

Don't mind them. Fraud everywhere

How donation money is spent is non of you all business.. you have the money out of charity he didn’t force you guys.

Verydarkhearted:
How donation money is spent is non of you all business.. you have the money out of charity he didn’t force you guys.

Make him tell court that one