Plumber finds missing money in wall of Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church

HOUSTON — A plumber doing repairs at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church has made a discovery — money stashed in a wall inside of the Houston megachurch.

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Church officials did not confirm the amount but did say that money was found.

In a statement to KHOU, a representative from Lakewood Church said: “Recently, while repair work was being done at Lakewood Church, an undisclosed amount of cash and checks were found. Lakewood immediately notified the Houston Police Department and is assisting them with their investigation. Lakewood has no further comment at this time.”

The found money is believed to be connected to a theft that happened in March 2014 where the church reported that at least $600,000 in cash and checks was taken.

KTRK reported that $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks was missing.

But police may have gotten a break in the case when a plumber who called himself Justin phoned into a morning radio show this week, saying that he had found the missing cash on Nov. 10 at Lakewood Church, KPRC reported.

“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,’” he recounted during the broadcast.

He said the envelopes contained cash and checks, KPRC reported.

Crime Stoppers offered a $25,000 reward, but the money was not found, KHOU reported. But the reward was only for information leading to an arrest and too much time has passed, meaning the plumber will not receive the reward, despite discovering the missing money, KPRC reported.

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