Texas plumber who found cash in Lakewood wall 'upset' with Joel Osteen: 'Should have heard something'

Emma Colton
Mon, December 6, 2021

The Texas plumber who found cash in a wall in preacher Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church said he’s "upset" that no one from the church has contacted him.

"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 man said after attending a service held by Osteen on Sunday, according to Click 2 Houston. The man has only been identified as Justin.

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"I feel like, at this point, I should have heard something," he said. "I’m just a little upset."

The plumber found the cash in a wall of the church in about 500 envelopes. Houston police said the money is in connection to a 2014 robbery at the church, where $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks were stolen from a church safe.

"There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile," the plumber said on 100.3 FM’s morning show. "We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall."

The church also released a statement saying police were contacted after the discovery was made.

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"Recently, while repair work was being done at Lakewood Church, an undisclosed amount of cash and checks were found," the church said. "Lakewood immediately notified the Houston Police Department and is assisting them with their investigation. Lakewood has no further comment at this time."

The discovery, however, has left some parishioners with more questions following the 2014 robbery.

"I was discouraged the first time," longtime parishioner Benito Rodriguez told Click 2 Houston, referring to the 2014 theft. "I was discouraged and now I am more discouraged because they found it. It doesn’t make any sense."