Plumber Awarded $20K For Finding Hidden Cash Lost For 7 Years In Joel Osteen's Church
The plumber, who found cash and checks hidden behind a wall in celebrity pastor Joel Osteen’s church outside Houston, will be awarded $20,000 for his discovery.
The church reported that $600,000 has been missing seven years.
The plumber was doing repairs on Nov. 10., when he found the cash behind a loose toilet. He revealed his story on "The Morning Bullpen," a Houston radio show.
“There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile,” he said on the radio show. “We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall.”
The award was given by Crime Stoppers of Houston on Tuesday, according to a Crime Stoppers statement. The organization has been on the theft case from the start and offered its base reward of $5,000. Lakewood Church added a $20,000 award to make it $25,000. Crime Stoppers received the original $25,000 award in 2016 from Lakewood Church as charity for its help.
Crime Stoppers CEO Rania Mankarious recommended to the company’s Executive Committee that the original award of $20,000 be given to the “Good Samaritan.”
“Crime Stoppers of Houston is a public safety organization that thrives on the public safety of all communities. We believe that it takes all of us, working together, to keep Houston safe and thriving. 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 about of money to this Good Samaritan and wishing he and his family a wonderful holiday season,” Mankarious said in a statement.
The plumber told local news that “This money is going to help tremendously. Bills are stacking up. I’m trying to make the best of it, and today, the light shined through."
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