Honest Plumber Says He Felt Slighted by Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Money Discovery Aftermath
Justin, the plumber who found $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks inside the walls of a bathroom at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church in Houston, says he felt a little bit slighted when the church failed to contact him to thank him for the stunning discovery and his honesty for turning it in.
Crime Stoppers of Houston announced a $5,000 reward back in 2014 for information in the case, and Lakewood Church put up a supplemental reward of $20,000 at the time, which the church donated to Crime Stoppers in 2016. Crime Stoppers announced that Justin will now receive the $20,000 reward.
Justin found about 500 envelopes stashed in the walls of the church last month. Houston police said the money recovered is in connection with a 2014 robbery at the church, where $600,000 in cash and checks were stolen from a church safe.
Earlier this week, Justin said in an interview with 100.3 FM’s morning show that he was “upset” that he had not heard from the church since he made the discovery.
“I feel like, at this point, I should have heard something,” Justin said in the interview and after he attended a service held by Osteen on Sunday. “I’m just a little upset. I wanted to hear [Joel Osteen] say, ‘You know, Justin, what you did was right. We understand what you did and what you could have done.”
The church released a statement Tuesday saying they hope Justin “pays the gift forward.”
“In 2016, Lakewood Church made a $20,000 charitable donation to Crime Stoppers of Houston to help solve this case and support them for all they do for the community,” the statement read. “We are appreciative of the plumber.” {eoa}
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