A Catholic reverend father was removed by police for deceiving donors. He raised $650,000 for medical clinics but used the funds for a lavish lifestyle instead.
Pawel Bielecki, known as “Father Paul,” claimed he ran medical clinics in war-torn Lebanon, meanwhile he was 5,600 miles away in Manhattan, New York…
Reverend Father Misused $650K Donations Meant For Sick People In Lebanon To Fund Lavish Lifestyle
“Bielecki exploited his position as a friar to gain the trust of victims across the country and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them,” said Damian Williams, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which collared the clergyman on Aug. 17 on charges of wire and mail fraud.
For eight years, the priest allegedly preyed on the compassionate members of his flock, soliciting donations on local radio shows and crowdfunding websites for non-existent Lebanese hospitals and ambulances, authorities said.
The cleric allegedly exploited the horrific August 4, 2020 chemical explosion in Beirut, which killed 218 people to fill his wallet, claiming he was hurt in the attack.
But prosecutors said he wasn’t even there and “made several purchases at coffee shops, restaurants and other businesses” in Manhattan on the day of the disaster.
Investigators say he did not leave the US between December 2019 and April 2022.
Friar Buck would direct his marks in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia and Florida to send checks to his friary with “Fr. Paul Bielecki’s Mission” in the memo line, the feds said.
“Bielecki (above) exploited his position as a friar to gain the trust of victims
across the country and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them,” said a US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
He would also sweet-talk victims into sending donations by mail to “St. Francis in Beirut Inc.”— a non-profit Bielecki established at the Manhattan friary where he resided.
Between December 2017 and February 2024, the friar withdrew almost $50,000 in cash from his bank accounts; transferred more than $600,000 to two credit card companies to pay for personal expenses, including $334 per month for a luxe gym membership; forays to the Hamptons and “numerous meals at high-end restaurants,” the complaint says.
He allegedly also used at least $15,000 on liposuction surgery, authorities said.
At different times he claimed to be a surgeon or a United Nations researcher, and the 48-year-old cleric used multiple aliases, including “Dr. Phaakon Sonderburg-Glucksburg.”
In September he legally changed his name to “Paul HRH Saxe-Coburg-Gotha” — with “HRH” standing for “His Royal Highness,” authorities said.
In 2018, he told the Salaam Club of New York and the Rotary Club of Verrazano: “Doctors are being taken along the Syrian border. I was supposed to have had four physicians with me but they are in jail now,” according to a story in the Brooklyn Reporter.
A Pennsylvania woman and her husband transferred $84,000 to Bielecki’s bank account between June 2020 and October 2023, the feds said.
The woman emailed Bielecki on Christmas Eve 2021, wishing him and “the people of Lebanon . . . many blessings of consolation and peace during this Holy Season.”
Two weeks later, Bielecki replied that he was “buying a new ambulance” that would “allow [him] to visit villages far north and provide medical help.”
The woman emailed back expressing her happiness that “the many prayers for an ambulance were answered” — and wired Bielecki another $10,000.
The cleric followed up with her the day after Valentine’s Day, writing, “God is great. The ambulance is OK to go . . . I already did a few villages with medical help. People were crying . . . God bless you both every day . . . every minute — Love Fr. Paul.”
In reality, Bielecki had just visited an NYC liposuction clinic, where he scheduled his $15,000 plastic surgery on March 8, police say.
John Abi-Habib, a member of the Salaam Club of New York and an honorary consul of Lebanon, also got scammed. “No way, oh wow!” he said, shocked after hearing of the arrest of the cleric.
“That’s scary man, that’s not right. Anyone that tries to use good people and hardworking people. . . and then not use [the donations properly]? It hurts. It hurts a lot.”
The Polish-born Bielecki entered the order of Capuchin Franciscans in Krakow in 1994 — ironically taking a vow of poverty, which required him to renounce material things and to not hold any property or bank accounts.
He was ordained a priest in 2001, church officials said.
