A Franciscan friar from Manhattan has been sentenced to five years in prison for running a fraudulent charity scheme, according to an announcement by Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Paul Bielecki, who also went by the alias “Paul HRH Saxe-Coburg-Gotha,” was sentenced for wire fraud after pleading guilty on November 11, 2024. U.S. District Judge Vincent Briccetti handed down the sentence.
Podolsky commented on the case, stating, “Paul Bielecki exploited his position as a friar to defraud hundreds of innocent victims. He faked a charity to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars and then used these stolen funds to live the high life. But Bielecki’s days of luxury and lies are over. Let today’s sentence be a lesson to all — if you abuse your position of trust to take advantage of others, you will be held accountable.”
Bielecki, a friar in the Capuchin Order based in New York City, was involved in a scheme to fraudulently collect donations for fictitious medical clinics in Beirut, Lebanon. For nearly ten years, he falsely claimed to be operating two medical clinics in Lebanon, soliciting funds for medical purposes. He misled victims by saying he was a trained and credentialed surgeon affected by the August 2020 Beirut explosion.
He solicited donations through various channels, including church events, radio programs, podcasts, and crowdfunding websites. In total, Bielecki received over $560,000 in donations from more than 350 victims. Despite taking a vow of poverty, his fraudulent earnings funded a lifestyle that included first-class travel, luxury gym memberships, trips to the Hamptons, upscale dining, and plastic surgery.
Victims of Bielecki's fraud are encouraged to contact Special Agent Sean Smyth at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for further assistance.
In addition to his prison sentence, Bielecki, 48, of New York, has been sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture and restitution totaling $563,448.
Podolsky acknowledged the efforts of the Special Agents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the IRS - Criminal Division in this investigation and thanked the New York Field Office of U.S. Customs and Border Protection for their assistance. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Levander and Ryan W. Allison from the Office’s White Plains Division.