Catholic Friar in WP Order Facing Jail Time for Fraud
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A Catholic Friar in a White Plains-based order could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted of charges of wire and mail fraud.
On Aug. 17, Pawel Bielecki, 48, a friar with the Province of St. Mary of the Capuchin Order, was arrested by the office of Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
“As alleged, Pawel 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,” Williams stated. “Bielecki is now facing federal charges for allegedly illegally profiteering on the trust his victims placed in him.”
According to Williams, Bielecki engaged in an ongoing fraudulent scheme related to fake medical clinics he claimed to operate in Lebanon. As described in the criminal complaint, through appearances and advertisements on radio programs and online podcasts, as well as various other media, including campaigns on various crowdfunding websites, Bielecki fraudulently obtained donations from victims by claiming, among other misrepresentations, to run medical clinics in Beirut, Lebanon, when in fact he was keeping victims’ donations for his personal use.
From about June 2015 to Dec. 2023, Bielecki repeatedly appeared as a guest or through advertisements on a local New York radio show. During those appearances and advertisements, Bielecki repeatedly represented that he was a Catholic priest and physician living in Lebanon and running medical clinics there, with the goal of assisting Christians living in the Middle East. He also made similar appearances on other radio programs and electronic media.
Williams stated Bielecki caused victims of his fraud scheme to send him donations through various means. Between approximately 2016 and 2019, Bielecki directed victims from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, and Florida, among other locations, to send checks to the Province with “Fr. Paul Bielecki’s Mission” or a similar endorsement in the memo line. From at least April 2021, Bielecki directed victims to send donations by mail to “St. Francis in Beirut Inc.”—a non-profit entity established in or about March 2021—at the address of a particular Capuchin Order friary in New York City, where he resides. At various times during the fraudulent scheme, Bielecki also obtained donations through crowdfunding websites and directly provided his bank account and Zell payment information to victims via email and other means of communication.
Despite his vow of poverty, Bielecki maintained multiple credit or debit card accounts and multiple bank accounts. Dozens of victims cumulatively provided Bielecki with at least hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations as a result of his fraudulent misrepresentations. Between approximately Dec. 2017 and approximately Feb. 2024, Bielecki 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 spending up to $334.40 per month for a membership at a luxury gym chain, and paying for multiple trips to the Hamptons and numerous meals at high-end restaurants; spent thousands of dollars on an aesthetic plastic surgery procedure at a liposuction clinic; and paid for numerous other personal expenses through debit card payments and other means.
Bielecki was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of mail fraud, each of which carries a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison. He is currently being held in federal detention.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/