Photo: Houston Crime Stoppers
A man who discovered cash and checks behind the wall at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston will receive a $20,000 reward for his good deed, according toCrime Stoppers of Houston, which is administering that reward.
In a statement, Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious said, “In 2014, Lakewood Church gave us $20,000 to work on this case. In 2016, they chose to gift us those funds for operations.”
“Today, we are gifting that same amount of money to this Good Samaritan and wishing he and his family a wonderful holiday season,” the statement continues.
In 2014, Lakewood Church reported a theft of approximately $600,000 in cash and checks after a church employee discovered funds were stolen from the church’s safe, a Houston Police spokesman explained toTheHoustonChronicleat the time.
In a statement years ago, the Lakewood Church said that the “funds were fully insured, and we are working with our insurance company to restore the stolen funds to the church,” the publication reported.
Crime Stoppers offered a cash reward of $5,000 and Lakewood Church offered $20,000 at the time for any info related to the alleged robbery. In 2016, Lakewood Church donated the money to the organization, it stated.
“On Nov. 10, 2021, [Houston Police Department] reported that during a renovation project, a plumber had discovered a large amount of money hidden in a wall. Evidence from the recovered checks suggests that the discovery of was connected to the March 2014 theft,” Crime Stoppers stated. “HPD is still investigating.”
The worker revealed that he was the one who found the money when he called intoThe Morning Bullpen with George Mo and Erik, a radio show.
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“I went ahead and contacted the maintenance supervisor that was there, and I turned it all in,” he added.
On Tuesday, the plumber behind the discovery was identified as Justin Cauley.
“This money is going to help tremendously,” hetold NBC affiliate KPRC. “Bills are stacking up. I’m trying to make the best of it, and today, the light shined through.”
source: people.com
