A Catholic priest in Pottstown, Pennsylvania is alleged to have spent more than $40,000 from the church over a three-year period on microtransactions in mobile games, including Candy Crush.
What’s it all about? On April 25, 2024, Reverend Lawrence Kozakim was arrested on a warrant for theft and related offenses, according to an affidavit. According to charges filed by the Chester County District Attorney’s Office, Reverend Lawrence Kozak spent more than $40,000 on the church over the course of three years (via The Philadelphia Inquirer).
He was released after posting $250,000 bail. His lawyer is currently reviewing the charges and plans to contact the public prosecutor’s office.
Church money spent on Candy Crush and Mario Kart Tour
How did the church notice? The allegations stem from a discovery by an accountant at St. Thomas More Church in Pottstown who reviewed the church’s finances in 2022 and uncovered astronomical amounts of Apple transactions.
The purchases allegedly began in 2019 – shortly after Kozak joined the community. The Apple ID used to purchase content in games like Candy Crush and Mario Kart Tour is said to be Kozak’s (via Kotaku).
Also for gifts to his goddaughter
Investigators discovered that an Amazon account linked to the priest also used the church’s credit card to purchase gifts for Kozak’s goddaughter. The gifts included a note signed by Uncle Larry.
Additional financial records showed Kozak used his personal bank account to pay off $10,000 of the credit card balance.
Priest says: He is addicted
What does the Kozak say about this? When interviewed by investigators in 2022, Kozak said he was seeking counseling due to his addiction to gambling and spending money on online games. He said the money was not spent on gambling but to gain an advantage in the games he played.
He denied intentionally using the credit cards for these purchases. He said that the cards were already connected to his cell phone. He used it to pay for church-authorized streaming services and Microsoft Office software. Kozak also said it was possible he used the cards accidentally – since he’s not a details guy.
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What were the further consequences? In November 2022, the priest was removed from his post at St. Thomas More Church after an internal investigation uncovered his gambling addiction and misuse of church funds.
The general manager of St. Thomas More told investigators she believed Kozak knew the credit card was being used for the games. She reported that she had previously questioned the priest about unexplained expenses on credit card statements and warned him about the risks of mixing business and personal expenses (via The Philadelphia Inquirer).
The investigation later revealed that Kozak had sent an $8,000 check to his successor at St. Thomas More after he was removed as leader of the church.
In a letter, Kozak apologized to the new priest and said he regretted making the mistake. He said he had begun paying back the money he owed the church.
The cover image is a symbolic image – it comes from Pexels.
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