CHESTER COUNTY, Pa. — A Chester County pastor is facing multiple theft charges after he allegedly used $40,000 in parish funds on mobile games.
Lawrence Frances Kozak Jr., 51, has been charged with theft by unlawful taking, other reason access device is unauthorized by issuer and theft by failure to make required disposition of funds received.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, Pennsylvania State Police were called when a church member conducting a routine audit discovered an unusually high balance on the parish credit card for the St. Thomas More Church. Further research uncovered a "large credit liability on the balance sheet and credit card payments were being coded incorrectly."
Investigators noted "astronomical" amounts of Apple transactions, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
An itemized document of the credit card from September of 2019 to June of 2022 contained 2,183 transactions related to a category of spending referred to as "gaming" with a total amount spent of $40,879. In total, six personal payments were made by Kozak on the parish credit card balance totaling $10,600.
According to the affidavit, the funds in the "gaming" category went to "Wizard of Oz" slots, Candy Crush Saga, Cash Frenzy, Mario Kart Tour and Pokemon Go.
In an interview with police, Kozak alleged that he never intentionally meant to use the parish credit card on the mobile games. He reportedly told police that he never realized that when he surpassed the balance on his Apple card, the charges were kicked over to the parish card.
According to the affidavit, in March of 2023, Kozak sent a check and letter indicating he repaid $41,773 to the St. Thomas More Parish.
His preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 9.
