Priest Gambled $500K In Money Collected To Help Refugees Fleeing ISIS Settle In Canada

A priest in Ontario named Father Amer Saka allegedly collected money from at least eight Iraqi families in his church with promises that he’d help their refugee relatives settle in Canada.

Instead, police believe he gambled it all way, to the tune of $500,000 and possibly more. His betrayed parishioners, meanwhile, will still see their families — some of them fleeing ISIS — settle in the country as, and the padre is now spending some time in rehab, the Toronto Star reported.

An investigation into the alleged gambling of the refugee money is now underway. The priest has been suspended, but so far, no charges have been filed, the London Free Press added.

Ont. priest investigated after refugee money gambled away https://t.co/eaXVIkUBvl pic.twitter.com/3f2nghyqF7

— Ottawa Sun (@ottawasuncom) March 28, 2016

Father Saka’s church is called St. Joseph’s Chaldean Catholic Church and is located in London, Ontario. Its congregation is comprised of Catholics from Iraq and neighboring countries. It’s overseen by the Chaldean eparchy in Toronto and set up with Pope Benedict XVI’s approval — it ultimately falls under the Vatican’s responsibility. St. Joseph’s has 100 families; Canada is home to 38,000 Chaldean Catholics.

The priest led a group that raised funds to sponsor refugees from Iraq, a program spearheaded by the Roman Catholic Dioceses of Hamilton. St. Joseph’s is one of 30 such parishes to be involved, and Father Saka had sponsored 20 applications. Ten of them have arrived in southern Ontario thus far.

But every cent collected to support them is gone.

Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta said up to eight families in London have been allegedly swindled by the priest. They gave the father thousands of dollars without asking for receipts or asking questions. Simply put — they trusted him.

On February 23, he confronted the priest about the refugee money, at which point the Father allegedly admitted to losing all it to gambling.

“I said, ‘I know this program deposits money (for refugees), where did you deposit it?’ I cornered him. I said, ‘I need to know where is this.’ He confessed. Right away, I removed him from the parish.”

He called police and took over the congregation; a new priest has since taken up the post. Shaleta also drove the priest to a rehab center specifically set up to help priests battle a range of problems, from gambling, to addiction, to sexually abusive behavior.

“They deposited it for their loved ones. He was supposed to return it when their relative came,” Shaleta recalled. “They did not give (it) as a donation for their church. Those people are upset now that (it’s) not there anymore. They trusted him, this money was not for him. It was to be given back to the refugees.”

The Hamilton diocese will put up the funds Saka allegedly pilfered, and the bishop is working to get the refugees to Canada.

Some of the families gave the priests massive amounts of cash for their refugee relatives, which was meant to help them pay for rent and expenses in the first year after their arrival in Canada. Sponsorships cost $12,000 per refugee, and $27,000 per family.

“People are sad. There are people who are working all their life to bring their family here,” according to one anonymous parishioner. “Some people had no money. They borrowed thousands just to get their family from Syria.”

He said many members of the congregation have relatives in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. One family raised $70,000 to the priest for their loved ones, who are still overseas. This source has said that up to $800,000 was collected and has since disappeared.

The police have confirmed that they’ve launched an investigation into the missing refugee money, CTV reported.