A former priest has been accused of embezzling approximately $450,000 from the Hellenic Orthodox Church of the Annunciation (HOCA) in Buffalo, New York.
Christos Christakis, 57, of Cincinnati, Ohio, has now been charged with bank fraud. If found guilty of wrongdoing, he will face a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo said, as per a press release published May 12 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of New York.
The former priest’s alleged fraud came to light after a whistleblower complaint was filed with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in March 2025, signaling financial irregularities happening at HOCA.
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Christakis was appointed as the priest at HOCA in March 2007. Four years later, in 2011, Christakis amended the church’s bylaws to include a provision granting him full control over the Priest Directionary Fund, which allowed him to make small direct assistance payments to those who needed financial help, the press release states, citing the criminal complaint.
The fund, supervised by the parish council, was subject to limits. At any given time, the discretionary account could usually have less than $1,500.
During an internal investigation conducted by the Archdiocese, Christakis admitted to “using parish funds for his own personal benefit between 2018 and 2025.”
Officials investigating the HOCA Discretionary Fund found that between January 2028 and July 31, 2025, nearly 725 checks were deposited into the fund. But, out of these, only 11 were categorized as donations. Moreover, one check for $7,000 was used to pay Christakis’s personal American Express bill.
Investigators also reviewed Christakis’s personal bank account, which he shared with his spouse, as well as his children’s bank accounts. They compared cash deposits made into those accounts with the timing and amounts of cash withdrawals from the Priest Discretionary Fund.
According to the analysis, about $338,660 in cash was deposited into the joint account. Investigators said the known employment and lifestyle of Christakis and his spouse would not have produced that amount of cash.
Authorities also examined Christakis’s spending and bank records by comparing the family’s main sources of income with their yearly expenses, excluding cash deposits. The review found that their non-cash income was insufficient to support their lifestyle. However, once cash deposits were included, the joint account balanced each year. Christakis is accused of stealing about $450,000.
The complaint against the defendant follows the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation under Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera. Meanwhile, Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring is the prosecutor on the case.
