Post by Baloo on Oct 28, 2003 13:23:38 GMT -5
This guy took our company for about $5k
Phony priest must serve 30 days, repay victims
By Ihosvani Rodriguez
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 10/25/2003 12:00 AM
A San Antonio man who posed as a priest as part of a scam to rip off more than $20,000 from local businesses was ordered to serve 30 days in jail and to repay his victims by working while living in a quasi-prison center for a year.
George Persyn, 43, advertised his storefront church in a newspaper and offered emergency priest services, which included scooting to places in a vehicle outfitted with emergency equipment. On Friday, he traded his phony priest collar for jeans and a shirt to appear in court.
District Judge Bert Richardson allowed the deal Persyn struck with prosecutors, granting a four-year probation term in which he is now obligated to pay back at least $20,000 to his victims. The exact amount of how much Persyn stole has still not been figured, prosecutors said.
As a condition for probation, a judge is allowed to order a defendant to serve jail time. Richardson denied pleas from Persyn's attorney not to include jail time, citing that his client is vulnerable to abuse from other inmates and has a number of health concerns.
Richardson said Persyn abused a religious organization for his scheme and ordered him to Bexar County Jail.
After his jail stint, Persyn will move to a South Bexar County center where he will be allowed to leave only for work. Part of his paycheck will be distributed to at least 13 known victims.
"We're going to be able to maintain a leash on him for some time and make sure he doesn't do these things again," prosecutor Miguel Najera said.
Prosecutors said Persyn approached his victims by asking them for a credit line to purchase items for his Alamo Heights-based "rent-a-priest" service. Once the credit was issued, Persyn went on a shopping spree, even bilking a religious supply store for about $457 in tapestries and communion wafers.
Items he racked up included $2,149.85 worth of business suits, a golf cart, wall art, cell phones, furniture and about $5,400 worth of police equipment to suit up his "emergency priest" car.
Some businesses indicated that when they visited Persyn's office to collect their money, they were met by a woman who confirmed that Persyn was a Catholic priest and assured them that the Archdiocese of San Antonio would reimburse them. Authorities allege that woman was Persyn's wife, Barbara Moreno.
For almost a decade, the archdiocese has received calls from businesses across the United States alleging that they had had run-ins with the Persyns.
After her husband was sentenced Friday, Moreno appeared angry and shocked. She insisted that her husband is an Anglican priest and that he had been wrongfully incarcerated.
"All he was doing was providing a religious service and helping people," she said. "How are they going to get their money back now that he's in jail?"
A trial on similar charges against Moreno is pending a psychiatric evaluation, Najera said.
Phony priest must serve 30 days, repay victims
By Ihosvani Rodriguez
San Antonio Express-News
Web Posted : 10/25/2003 12:00 AM
A San Antonio man who posed as a priest as part of a scam to rip off more than $20,000 from local businesses was ordered to serve 30 days in jail and to repay his victims by working while living in a quasi-prison center for a year.
George Persyn, 43, advertised his storefront church in a newspaper and offered emergency priest services, which included scooting to places in a vehicle outfitted with emergency equipment. On Friday, he traded his phony priest collar for jeans and a shirt to appear in court.
District Judge Bert Richardson allowed the deal Persyn struck with prosecutors, granting a four-year probation term in which he is now obligated to pay back at least $20,000 to his victims. The exact amount of how much Persyn stole has still not been figured, prosecutors said.
As a condition for probation, a judge is allowed to order a defendant to serve jail time. Richardson denied pleas from Persyn's attorney not to include jail time, citing that his client is vulnerable to abuse from other inmates and has a number of health concerns.
Richardson said Persyn abused a religious organization for his scheme and ordered him to Bexar County Jail.
After his jail stint, Persyn will move to a South Bexar County center where he will be allowed to leave only for work. Part of his paycheck will be distributed to at least 13 known victims.
"We're going to be able to maintain a leash on him for some time and make sure he doesn't do these things again," prosecutor Miguel Najera said.
Prosecutors said Persyn approached his victims by asking them for a credit line to purchase items for his Alamo Heights-based "rent-a-priest" service. Once the credit was issued, Persyn went on a shopping spree, even bilking a religious supply store for about $457 in tapestries and communion wafers.
Items he racked up included $2,149.85 worth of business suits, a golf cart, wall art, cell phones, furniture and about $5,400 worth of police equipment to suit up his "emergency priest" car.
Some businesses indicated that when they visited Persyn's office to collect their money, they were met by a woman who confirmed that Persyn was a Catholic priest and assured them that the Archdiocese of San Antonio would reimburse them. Authorities allege that woman was Persyn's wife, Barbara Moreno.
For almost a decade, the archdiocese has received calls from businesses across the United States alleging that they had had run-ins with the Persyns.
After her husband was sentenced Friday, Moreno appeared angry and shocked. She insisted that her husband is an Anglican priest and that he had been wrongfully incarcerated.
"All he was doing was providing a religious service and helping people," she said. "How are they going to get their money back now that he's in jail?"
A trial on similar charges against Moreno is pending a psychiatric evaluation, Najera said.
