A former priest in Pennsylvania was arrested after he was accused of stealing more than $740,000 from multiple churches, his Catholic community and his mother.
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General announced in a news release that Gregory Allen Madeya was arrested on August 14 in Vero Beach, Florida.
He was charged with felony dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, theft by unlawful taking, financial exploitation of an older adult or care-dependent person and access device fraud.
Madeya, 69, was charged after the alleged thefts that began taking place in 2018 were uncovered in a multiyear investigation.
He was accused of fraudulently misappropriating nearly $320,000 that he obtained from “multiple church-related people and entities” and the Knights of Columbus, which is the Pennsylvania branch of the world’s largest Catholic men’s fraternal service organization.
Investigators spoke to witnesses from across the church community, who informed them about missing collections money, fundraising proceeds, donations, rent and church-related fees that “were never deposited into church accounts,” according to the release.
A jeweler also spoke to investigators after Madeya allegedly sold a gold chalice to him while he was acting as a representative of St. John the Baptist, where he worked at the time.
Madeya reportedly sold the chalice for $19,440, and the jeweler was under the belief that the money was going to help the church’s finances.
The attorney general’s office also alleged that Madeya bought a 2018 Ford Mustang for $35,433 in cash during the “same period as the thefts,” which he claimed to have purchased for the man living with him.
As the investigation continued, authorities found messages and photos “related to narcotics” and photographs of debit cards and bank documents that were related to St. John the Baptist. Investigators also found several “church-offering collection envelopes” in his trash.
Not only did Madeya allegedly steal from the church, but he also took more than $230,000 from his mother’s investment accounts, according to authorities. Additionally, he never paid the tax responsibility for the accounts that were worth over $248,000.
Investigators learned that his mother had been evicted from multiple nursing homes due to lack of payment, and it was determined that Madeya “abused his position as his mother’s power of attorney to steal funds meant for her care.”
“It is unconscionable to see a supposed man of God exploiting not only the churches he served, but his own mother,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement in the release. “This defendant abused the trust of those around him, and left them to recover from mammoth financial losses.”
Chief Deputy Attorney General Patrick Schulte will prosecute the case with the Financial Crime Section.
It is not currently clear whether Madeya has entered a plea or retained legal counsel following his arrest.
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