Here's How Joel Osteen Rewarded The Plumber Who Found Stolen Money In His Church
Famous televangelist Joel Osteen has been in the media for various reasons over the years. Osteen was once trending because he kept his enormous Lakewood Church doors closed when the people of Houston, Texas were experiencing massive displacement due to Hurricane Harvey back in 2017. Also, Osteen's megachurch once received an estimated $4.4 million from the Paycheck Protection Program to cover staff payroll and other expenses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which he was guilted into returning on October 12, per The Richest. However, none are as peculiar as the latest reason for why he is trending in the news: More than $600,000 was found in the walls of the bathroom located at his Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas, per NBC News.
Houston plumber Justin Cauley found hundreds of envelopes behind the bathroom wall while fixing a toilet. "There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile," Cauley told Houston's 100.3 The Bull morning radio show (via The New York Times). "We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like 'Oh wow!'" Cauley contacted a maintenance supervisor and then gave the church the envelopes.
But since the discovery, the plumber hasn't received a single thing, not even a thought or prayer — until now.
Crime Stoppers of Houston gave Justin Cauley $20,000
Justin Cauley, the Houston plumber who found $600,000 within the bathroom walls of preacher Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, was gifted $20,000 as a reward, according to the Daily Mail. This occurred after he spoke to Fox News and said he was "upset" Osteen did not reach out to him or even thank him. "I wanted to hear him say, 'You know, Justin, what you did was right. We understand what you did and what you could have done.' I feel like, at this point, I should have heard something," Cauley said, per Fox News.
However, Crime Stoppers of Houston heeded his call and reached out to offer Cauley a $20,000 reward, according to Click2Houston. They've been investigating the disappearance of the Lakewood Church funds since 2014, and offered a $5,000 reward for information on it. Later on, Lakewood Church donated $20,000 to Crime Stoppers to help with the investigation, but there were never any answers about what happened to the missing money. "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 church said on December 8, per Click2Houston. "We are appreciative of the plumber, and we hope he pays the gift forward."
"My heart stopped, needless to say. I had no clue that that call would come about," Cauley said. "Bills are stacking up, work is starting to get slow ... This money is gonna help tremendously. It's a bit of a blessing."