The largest church in the nation was robbed this past weekend, with the perpetrator breaking into the safe and getting away with $600,000 in cash, checks and credit card donations.
“We were heartbroken to learn today that funds were stolen from the church over the weekend. This includes cash, checks and envelopes containing written credit card information, and it is limited only to those funds contributed in the church services on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014,” Lakewood told the 45,000-member congregation in a statement on Monday.
Around $200,000 of the money was in cash; the rest was in the form of checks or envelopes containing personal credit card information.
“It is important to note this was not an electronic data breach, but was instead limited to donations made in the services on March 8 and 9, 2014. You were not affected if you put your offering in a drop box, you gave online or through other electronic means, or you made a bookstore purchase,” Lakewood noted. “We are working with the police to fully investigate the incident. The funds were fully insured, and we are working with our insurance company to restore the stolen funds to the church.”
