A Catholic priest in Pottstown, Pennsylvania spent over $40,000 of church funds on mobile games including Candy Crush and Mario Cart.
Blair Marnell
on April 28, 2024 at 9:46AM PDT
There have been plenty of church scandals over the decades, but this might be the very first one that involves Candy Crush. Via The Philadelphia Inquirer, Reverend Lawrence Kozak was arrested in Pottstown, Pennsylvania on April 25 and charged with stealing over $40,000 in funds from his former parish, St. Thomas More Church. According to the report, Kozak’s vice of choice was mobile gaming, especially Candy Crush and Mario Kart.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia removed Kozak from his parish in November 2022 after an internal investigation determined that he spent “an astronomical amount of Apple transactions” on the church’s credit card. The charges span from September 2019 to July 2022. Kozak is also said to have used church funds to buy gifts for his goddaughter.
Kozak reportedly informed investigators in 2022 that he utilized the funds to “power up” and gain an advantage in his mobile games. Kozak also stated that he was “receiving therapy for his addiction,” and he refuted purposefully utilizing church finances for his games. Instead, Kozak asserts that the church credit card charges occurred because the cards were already linked to his mobile device.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the financial documents show that Kozak reimbursed $10,000 to the parish credit card account from his personal finances. The article also states that Kozak sent an $8,000 check to his previous parish after his removal from his position. Accompanying the check, Kozak included an apology letter to his successor at St. Thomas More, and he made mention his efforts to repay the church.
Kozak is currently out on bail, and his legal representative informed The Philadelphia Inquirer that “he was reviewing the charges, and he intended to communicate with the prosecutors about the case in the next few days.”
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