A Plumber Found Cash In The Walls Of A Church & He Got A $20K Reward For Turning It In
$600K was stolen from the church several years ago 👀
Doing the right thing can be hard when it means giving up thousands of dollars that you just found, but that wasn't the case for a "Good Samaritan" in Texas.
A plumber recently stumbled upon huge stacks of cash hidden inside the walls of televangelist Joel Osteen's church in Houston, and the local Crime Stoppers unit just gave him a $20,000 reward for doing the honest thing and reporting the cash to authorities.
The plumber was working on a renovation project at Lakewood Church on November 10 when he stumbled upon the money, according to a news release from Crime Stoppers of Houston.
The findings have led officials to believe that the money is connected to the theft of $600,000 in cash and cheques from the Church in March 2014.
Crime Stoppers offered an initial reward of $5,000 for information that led to an arrest, and the church promised an additional $20,000 for the same goal, resulting in a potential reward of $25,000.
When no one came forward with any info, the church ultimately donated the $20,000 to Crime Stoppers of Houston.
Following the discovery of the money, Crime Stoppers decided to give the donation to the plumber, just in time for the holiday season.
“In 2014, Lakewood Church gave us $20,000 to work on this case. In 2016, they chose to gift us those funds for operations. Today, we are gifting that same about of money to this Good Samaritan and wishing he and his family a wonderful holiday season,” Crime Stoppers of Houston CEO Rania Mankarious said in the news release.
The plumber told Click 2 Houston that his “bills are stacking up” and the payout was a welcome relief.
“I’m just trying to make the best of it, and today, that light shined through,” he said.
He thanked the church and said that “this money is going to help tremendously.”
This article's right-hand cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.