Ont. priest charged after allegedly gambling away more than $500,000 meant for Syrian refugees
By
Jennifer O'Brien, The London Free Press
First posted: Thursday, July 14, 2016 03:47 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, July 14, 2016 03:54 PM EDT
LONDON, Ont. - He was supposed to be at court, charged with fraud involving more than 20 victims and more than $500,000 in missing money that was meant to help settle Syrian refugees in Canada.
Instead, London Chaldean priest Father Amer Saka was in hospital Thursday morning,
After a five-month probe, investigators have charged Saka with fraud over $5,000 and an offence called possessing the proceeds of property or a thing over $5,000.
Saka had been in custody since turning himself into police headquarters Wednesday.
He had been expected to appear at a bail hearing Thursday, but while his bishop was at the courthouse to act as his surety, Saka's hearing had to wait.
"He does have some health issues that have been addressed in the last few months. We don't know how serious they are, but he was taken to Victoria hospital and will be released," said Saka's Toronto lawyer, Iryna Revutsky, who was at court Thursday.
Saka's bishop, Emanuel Shaleta was also at the courthouse, arranging to act as a surety for the priest if he got bail, but would not comment on the situation saying police had scolded him for talking to the media back in March.
Saka -- who was the pastor at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Catholic church in London, and an administrator of the Mar Ouraha parish in Kitchener -- has been suspended from his duties and has stayed out of the public eye since March, when police said they were investigating reports that hundreds of thousands of dollars had gone missing from a refugee trust fund.
At the time, Shaleta told
The Free Press that Saka told him he gambled away more than $500,000 given to him by families -- including seven or eight families from the small church in London -- who trusted Saka to hold it for refugee relatives under a private sponsorship program.
Police would not comment on the allegations of gambling Thursday, but said Saka is alleged to have obtained money, "under the guise of a sponsorship program," to help settle refugees in Canada.
"The basis of alleged fraud is unique because it is alleged to have taken advantage of refugees who are using federal run programs," said London Police Const. Sandasha Bough..
"There are more than 20 victims from Ontario, the U.S. and other countries," said Bough.
Possibly more, she added..
"The investigation is ongoing and we are hoping that if anybody was a victim or had any dealings with Amer Saka that they contact us," said Bough.
Saka himself has refused to speak to
Free Press reporters who have tried to reach him more than a dozen times in person and by phone since the story surfaced in March.
On Thursday, his lawyer said Saka has "remained committed to his Christian faith and his parishioners," since news broke that police were investigating reports of hundreds of thousands of dollars going missing.
"He is a man of God, and he relies on God's mercy and he also asks for privacy during these difficult times," said Revutsky. "He is very grateful he has the support of the Chaldean Christian church and the support of his bishop Emanuela Shaleta."
Asked if how he was going to plead in the case, Revutsky said she didn't know.
"It's such an early stage in the process, it's impossible to know," she said.
Under the federal government’s private sponsorship program, people who want to sponsor refugees must raise money to support the newcomers as they get settled. About $12,000 must be raised to sponsor one refugee, and $27,000 to sponsor a family.
Faith-based organizations often partner with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to help with the process by holding the money, making the application and essentially vouching for the sponsors. The money is used for rent and expenses during the first year after newcomers arrive.
Shaleta, head of Canada’s Mar Addai Chaldean Eparchy, an Eastern Rite church that represents Catholics from Iraq and surrounding countries, and which is overseen by the Vatican, said the problem came to light in February, when he learned the priest was participating in the federal government’s refugee-sponsorship program through the Hamilton Roman Catholic Diocese.
Saka had been parish priest at St. Joseph’s for about eight years.
Saka’s London parish has a congregation of about 100 families, said Shaleta. They’re among about 38,000 Chaldean Catholics across the country
When news broke that money for refugees had gone missing, many in the parish were worried their relatives would not be able to immigrate to Canada after all. However, the Hamilton Diocese said publicly it would help facilitate all sponsorships that had been started through Fr. Saka.
On Thursday, in light of the charges, the diocese released the following statement from Bishop Douglas Crosby.
"In light of the recent charges laid against Father Amir Saka, I wish to affirm, that the Diocese of Hamilton remains committed to the continuing care and support of all refugees under the Diocese’s sponsorship program, including those whose sponsorship may have involved Father Saka. The Diocese of Hamilton is not at liberty to discuss this matter further as the case is before the Ontario courts; however, I assure all who have contributed to the sponsorship program that the Diocese of Hamilton intends to continue its long established and important work in sponsoring refugees. Furthermore, the Diocese of Hamilton ensures that the refugees under its sponsorship care continue to be supported.”
Father Amer Saka, a priest working at the St. Joseph Chaldean Catholic Church in London, Ontario, is suspended, in treatment and under investigation after telling his bishop he gambled away nearly $500,000 given to him by families who thought he was holding it for refugee relatives (Facebook / St. Joseph Chaldean Cathoic Church photo)
Ont. priest charged after allegedly gambling away more than $500,000 meant for S
