A Franciscan friar vowed to commit himself to poverty, like other friars in his order. But Pawel Bielecki broke his vow by stealing more than $560,000 he caused people to donate toward a non-existent medical charity in Beirut, Lebanon, according to federal prosecutors. Bielecki, a Catholic friar with the Province of St.
Mary of the Capuchin Order in White Plains, New York, told an array of lies to obtain the donations during his appearances and in advertisements on radio shows, podcasts and his campaigns on crowdfunding websites, prosecutors said. He faked being a doctor and lied about living in Lebanon, where he pretended to run medical clinics to help Christians living in the Middle East, according to the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He also pretend to be a surgeon and lied about having several Ph.D degrees, prosecutors said Bielecki spent thousands in donations on a plastic surgery procedure at a liposuction clinic, trips to the Hamptons, high-end meals, a monthly $334.
40 luxury gym membership fee and more between December 2017 and February 2024, court documents show. The people he scammed spanned several states, according to prosecutors, who said victims in Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey and New York sent checks endorsed to “Fr. Paul Bielecki’s Mission,” according to prosecutors.
Bielecki, 48, of New York City, has pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with his scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said .
