Priest arrested after blowing $40,000 of church funds on Candy Crush, Mario Kart

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A Catholic priest in the U.S. has been arrested after spending more than $40,000 USD (about $55,000 CAD) of the church’s money on mobile games and other improper items.

As reported by The Philadelphia Enquirer, Lawrence Zozak, a 51-year-old reverend in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, has been charged Kozak with theft and related crimes after using a parish credit card to fund his addiction to games like Candy Crush and Mario Kart Tour. Zosak was removed from his position at St. Thomas More Church in 2022 following an investigation by the archdiocese’s Office of Parish Services and Support.

The office discovered “an astronomical amount of Apple transactions” made using the parish credit card to an Apple ID that was linked to Zozak. The spending also began in September 2019, shortly after he joined the church, and lasted until July 2022.

While the bulk of the purchases were on the aforementioned mobile games, detectives also found that Kozak had purchased an Amazon Fire tablet, a backpack and a children’s chemistry set to send to his goddaughter.

Notably, Kozak denied intentionally using the parish credit cards for the purchases, stating they were already connected to his cell phone so he could pay for church-authorized software. He did admit, however, that he could have used the church cards accidentally.

He also said he was seeking counselling for his addiction, but claimed the money didn’t constitute gambling, as it was intended to help him “power up” in the games.

Image credit: Nintendo

Source: The Philadelphia Enquirer

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