What did Father George Athanasiou do? Allegations of theft explored in wake of Canonsburg priest arrest

Canonsburg priest Father George Athanasiou, 38, has been arrested for allegedly embezzling over $117,000. North Strabane police have confirmed that the All Saints Greek Orthodox Church currently faces several theft charges. According to court documents, Athanasiou allegedly said that he was stealing money to deal with some of his personal problems.

Police have stated that they are thoroughly investigating the case and are yet to arrive at a solid conclusion. Authorities also claimed that the aforementioned amount was stolen in the period between April 2022 and November 2023. However, the amount can be more than what has currently been stated.

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Father George Athanasiou charged with more than 220 felonies related to fraud and theft, after he was taken into custody on Thursday

An assistant priest at All Saints Greek Orthodox Church in North Strabane Township was arrested on Thursday, November 30. He faces some serious charges of theft and fraud after being accused of embezzlement of over $117k. According to the criminal complaint against the priest, the church became aware of some discrepancies in the account books in September 2023.

The church authorities also discovered that several bank checks went missing, and they were deposited into an unauthorized PNC account. It was later revealed that, during that time period, only George Athanasiou had a PNC ATM card. According to the church leadership,

"[He] would not be permitted to take, sign, or deposit… checks into that PNC account… and would have no legitimate reason to withdraw sums of the church's money from ATMs."

According to law enforcement officials, several pieces of evidence, including videos and bank account transaction details, have allegedly shown that the assistant priest is responsible for the embezzlement. Later, when investigating officers interviewed him, he allegedly admitted to the act as well. Regarding the ongoing investigation, cops said,

"These figures are preliminary and will require extensive internal investigation by the church."

As per reports, North Strabane police have charged George Athanasiou on 223 counts of theft by unlawful taking, forgery, bad checks, and access device usage.

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Authorities mentioned that the suspected priest has "abused the trust" of the church

George Athanasiou reportedly claimed that he would first take the checks and sign on the back. He would allegedly deposit them into his account before transferring them to a separate account. The same has been reported by CBS News, who also mentioned that after the transfer, Athanasiou would take out cash using the ATM card.

Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh said,

"Someone who is put in a position of trust, a fiduciary position, with the members of a church and abuses that trust, it is absolutely sad."

Walsh added that authorities are still calculating the exact figure that has been embezzled by George Athanasiou. He added,

"Our goals in any prosecution is to make victims of crimes whole, so we work towards that goal in this case, like we do in every case."

George Athanasiou is currently held on a bond of $250,000. His preliminary hearing is further scheduled for December 18, 2023. The case is an ongoing investigation, and authorities are trying to unearth all the details available regarding the same.