From California Post · · 1m 30s
Bishop accused of pocketing a CEO's $200K church donation
A lawsuit says a San Diego County bishop collected $200,000 in cash for a church remodel, kept it, then moved to Michigan.
In brief
A lawsuit says a San Diego County bishop collected $200,000 in cash for a church remodel, kept it, then moved to Michigan. Toma says a priest at the church told him no donation ever arrived and the church never needed one. Those are claims in a civil suit and have not been proven. Originally reported by California…
A $200K donation vanishes
A civil suit accuses Yousif Abdulmasih, also known as Bishop Marnaba Yousif Habash, of keeping a $200,000 cash gift. The money was meant to renovate a church in El Cajon.
The pitch for a remodel
Hani Toma, a CEO who belongs to the church, says the bishop told him it needed remodeling but was short on money. Toma agreed to give $200,000 as long as the gift stayed anonymous.
Cash picked up in person
On June 8, Habash allegedly went to Toma's workplace and collected the whole $200,000 in cash himself.
A priest tells another story
Later that month, Toma says a priest at the church told him the remodel had never depended on donations. The priest also said no money had come in.
“the church had always had enough money to pay for the remodeling itself and that no donation had ever come in”
Lawsuit filed, bishop gone
Toma sued in San Diego County Superior Court on Sept. 2, saying Habash kept the money for himself. He wants the $200,000 back plus damages. Habash has reportedly moved to Michigan.
A church with deep roots
Our Mother of Perpetual Help is a Syriac Catholic church with close ties to San Diego County's Iraqi Christian community. The faith's patriarchal seat is in Beirut.
The main idea
Toma says a priest at the church told him no donation ever arrived and the church never needed one. Those are claims in a civil suit and have not been proven.
