Plumber finds cash in wall of Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church years after burglary

[MASTERBAKER]

Plumber finds cash in wall of Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church years after burglary
By
Kirsten Fleming
December 3, 2021 1:22pm
Updated

A plumber made a shocking discovery inside of Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church bathrooms -- gobs of cash in the wall.
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This megachurch bathroom is flush with cash.
A plumber went to Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston to remove a loose toilet but instead found envelopes stuffed with cash and checks inside the wall — seven years after $600,000 was stolen from the church safe, according to KRPC Channel 2.
The bizarre story came to light during a radio segment with host George Lindsey on 100.3 “The Bull” when a caller claimed he was doing repairs at Osteen’s house of worship on Nov. 10, 2021, and stumbled upon the hidden treasure.



“There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile,” the caller told Lindsey. “We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like, ‘Oh wow!’”
The honest plumber didn’t run away with the loot.
Osteen preaching at his Lakewood Church in Houston.Tribune News Service via Getty I
“I went ahead and contacted the maintenance supervisor that was there, and I turned it all in,” he added.
SEE ALSO

$600K in donations stolen from Osteen’s megachurch
It’s unclear how much money was in the wall, but Houston police never solved the 2014 crime, in which the megachurch said a whopping $600,000 had gone missing from the safe.
“Don’t you want to know what happened, I mean they stole the money, but they didn’t get it out of the wall. Did they have an accident, you know what I mean? It’s like, why did they never go back? If it’s that money, why did they never go back?” Lindsey said.
A rep from Lakewood Church put out a statement confirming the plumber’s tale.
“Recently, while repair work was being done at Lakewood Church, an undisclosed amount of cash and checks were found,” a representative said. “Lakewood immediately notified the Houston Police Department and is assisting them with their investigation. Lakewood has no further comment at this time.”

 

[letsshoot]

hmmm

 

[illdog]

I have more respect for pimps and politicians than most preachers...

 

[saundman]

 

[MASTERBAKER]

 

[mariano42]

The Pablo Escobar of religion

 

[MASTERBAKER]

 

[MASTERBAKER]

Kenneth Copeland, wealthiest US pastor, lives on $7M tax-free estate
By
Mary K. Jacob
December 17, 2021 3:54pm
Updated

Televangelist Kenneth Copeland -- shown with his wife, Gloria -- is not paying any property tax, despite his own estimated $760 million net worth.Google Images
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Considered the wealthiest pastor in America — with an alleged estimated net worth of $760 million — televangelist Kenneth Copeland is in hot water after an extensive investigation by the Houston Chronicle revealed how he has been living in a tax-free mega-mansion worth $7 million and paid for by Texas taxpayers for years.
The 85-year-old pastor’s house spans 18,000 square feet and is made up of six bedrooms and six bathrooms, located on an exclusive lake community outside Fort Worth.
The luxury pad, Copeland’s primary residence, is situated on one acre and surrounded by a 24-acre lakefront tract, which is valued “extraordinarily low” at $125,000, according to the Chronicle. Because of its low value, Copeland’s Eagle Mountain International Church — which Copeland founded in 1967 and which technically owns the home — pays less than $3,000 a year in property taxes, records show. The value was agreed upon by the Tarrant Appraisal District in Fort Worth as part of a dispute resolution agreement with the church.
But real estate experts said that the waterfront property in an open market would actually sell for millions.
Because Copeland claimed the mansion as a “clergy residence,” the home qualified for a 100% tax break. Without the break, Copeland would otherwise have an annual property tax exceeding $150,000.
The 85-year-old pastor’s house spans 18,000 square feet and is made up of six bedrooms and six bathrooms, located on an exclusive lake community outside Fort Worth.The $7 million mansion is made up of six bedrooms and six bathrooms and is situated on one acre of land.Google Earth
The founder of the self-titled Christian organization Kenneth Copeland Ministries, the thrice-married pastor previously stated that when people drive by his house, “they will know there is a God,” according to a speech he gave at his 2015 Southwest Believers’ Convention in Fort Worth.
At the event, Copeland explained that his journey to living in the mansion all started when God told him years earlier to build a dream home that his wife, Gloria, had described to him.
“Minister this house to her,” he recalled being told. “It is part of your prosperity.”
Her vision included a three-story estate with long white columns in front.
Kenneth Copeland with wife Gloria Copeland, who allegedly envisioned the home.kcbiblecollege
“You may think that house is too big,” the prosperity preacher stated at the 2015 convention. “You may think it’s too grand. I don’t care what you think. I heard from heaven. Glory to God, hallelujah!'”
Built in 1999, the property “has a sweeping spiral staircase and a bridge that spans across the living room and connects the two sides of the house,” a 2011 report by the US Senate Finance Committee stated, according to the Chronicle story. “It also has crystal chandeliers and, according to Gloria Copeland, doors that ‘came from a castle,’ along with a ‘huge drop-down ceiling projector and screen’ in the bedroom.”
The estate is near the private airport owned by the church and features a 24-acre lakefront.Google Images
The mansion also boasts a tennis court, two garages and a covered boat dock with three slips, perched on the shores of Eagle Lake.
Copeland’s ministries center around his belief that God wants everyone to be “financially successful.”
This Aug. 27, 2013, photo shows a sign at the entrance of the Kenneth Copeland Ministries Eagle Mountain Church, in Newark, Texas.AP
This isn’t the first time the minister has been caught in the crossfire. In 2007, Copeland’s ministry — which reportedly owns a $20 million jet and another small jet next to a private airport established by the church — was asked about using the planes for his friends and personal vacations.
“I’m a very wealthy man,” Copeland told reporter Lisa Guerrero from “Inside Edition” in a May 2019 interview, during which she questioned him over his “luxury” lifestyle and refusal to travel on commercial airplanes.
Because Copeland claimed the mansion as a “clergy residence,” the home qualified for a 100% tax break.AP
“It takes a lot of money to do what we do. We have brought over 122 million people to the Lord Jesus Christ,” Copeland responded in the 12-minute video.
But Pete Evans, president of the religious accountability organization Trinity Foundation, seemingly found fault with Copeland’s church and its use of the tax break.


“The law was never intended to give breaks to millionaires and multimillionaires,” he told the Chronicle. “You make a mockery of the law itself.”

 

[MASTERBAKER]

 

[MisterT]

 

[BigATLslim]

I used to get mad…but then I was like it’s fcked up, all the way, but they ain’t stealing cause the congregation giving.

 

[Pack Rat]