Texas Plumber Finds '500 Envelopes' Full of Cash, Checks at Joel Osteen’s Megachurch in Houston
A Texas plumber found hundreds of envelopes full of cash and checks behind a toilet in Joel Osteen's Houston megachurch while he was doing repairs.
The plumber, identified only as "Justin," shared his experience on Thursday when he called on the country music radio station 100.3 "The Bull, saying he found the envelopes on November 10, The Daily Wire reported.
According to the man, they went to Joel Osteen's church to work on a loose toilet in the wall. Justin said about "500 envelopes" fell out of the wall after removing the tile and the toilet and moving some insulation away.
"I was like 'Oh wow!'... I went ahead and contacted the maintenance supervisor that was there, and I turned it all in," the Texas plumber concluded.
Houston Police Confirms Texas Plumber Story
In a statement on Friday, the Houston Police Department confirmed the story of the Texas plumber about the discovery of the stash in Joel Osteen's church.
The police department noted that officers were called to Lakewood Church at 3700 Southwest Freeway at about 2:30 p.m. "for a report of the property discovered in the building."
Response on investigation at 3700 Southwest Freeway:#hounews pic.twitter.com/9rssUllblJ
— Houston Police (@houstonpolice) December 3, 2021
Authorities noted that the church members said a large amount of money, including checks, cash, and money orders, was found inside a wall of the Lakewood Church.
The Houston police did not disclose the amount of money discovered by the Texas plumber. However, they pointed out that burglary and theft officers were investigating the incident.
The police department noted that the money was inventoried, documented, and left in the custody of Joel Osteen's church since it was found on its premises.
Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church did not comment about the incident. But they verified the cash discovered by the Texas plumber, saying they were the ones who notified the Houston Police about the incident.
Houston Police Says Cash Discovered by Texas Plumber May Be Connected to 2014 Theft Incident at Church
The Houston Police Department said the envelopes of cash and checks found in Lakewood Church might be connected to a 2014 theft incident.
According to reports, hundreds of thousands of dollars were reportedly stolen from the Lakewood Church's safe in 2014, including $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks.
"Evidence from the recovered checks suggests this November case is connected to a March 9, 2014 theft report of undisclosed amounts of money at the church," the Houston police said.
The church had been working with the Houston police to solve the case. This week, the church and Crime Stoppers of Houston offered $25,000 for information that would lead to the arrest of those responsible for the theft.
However, the Crime Stoppers of Houston noted that the Texas plumber would not receive any reward money as they only offered the reward only for information leading to an arrest.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Joshua Summers
WATCH: Money, Checks Found in Wall of Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, Years After $600K Burglary - From KPRC 2 Click2Houston
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