Catholic cleric conman used $650K in donations for plastic surgery and trips to the Hamptons

A Franciscan friar has been accused of being a conman after he allegedly used $650,000 on plastic surgery and trips to the Hamptons while claiming he was helping injured people in Lebanon. 

Pawel 'Paul' Bielecki, 48, of New York City, was charged with wire and mail fraud by the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York for allegedly 'defrauding victims by falsely representing that he was a medical doctor who runs medical clinics in Beirut, Lebanon,' the complaint read. 

He allegedly transferred more than $600,000 to two credit card companies for personal expenses, including a $334-a-month gym, multiple trips to the Hamptons, and for dining at high-end restaurants. 

He also transferred $50,000 to his personal bank accounts and spent $15,000 on plastic surgery. 

He gained the money through donations between 2015 and 2024 as he claimed to be a surgeon with multiple PhDs who ran two medical clinics in Lebanon. 

He exploited the 2020 chemical explosion in Beirut that killed 218 and where Bielecki claimed he was injured and his clinic was badly damaged. 

Pawel 'Paul' Bielecki, 48, of New York City , was charged with wire and mail fraud by the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York for allegedly 'defrauding victims by falsely representing that he was a medical doctor who runs medical clinics in Beirut , Lebanon' 

The Southern District of New York found that Bielecki had left the US between December 2019 and April 2022 and during the time he told patrons he was injured, he was actually making purchases at coffee shops and restaurants in New York City, where he lives.  

'As alleged, Pawel Bielecki exploited his position as a friar to gain the trust of victims across the country and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from them,' US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement. 'Bielecki is now facing federal charges for allegedly illegally profiteering on the trust his victims placed in him.' 

Bielecki took a vow of poverty when he joined the Capuchin Order, a White Plains-based religious organization, where he agreed to not hold any property or bank accounts in his name for personal benefit. 

The friary provided its godly workers with $250 a month for personal expenses, as well as gave them a credit card for work-related expenses, according to the US Attorney's Office. 

Between 2016 and 2019, patrons from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, and Florida, were directed to send donations in the form of checks with the memo line reading: 'Fr. Paul Bielecki's Mission.' 

He exploited the 2020 chemical explosion in Beirut (pictured) that killed 218 and where Bielecki claimed he was injured and his clinic was badly damaged

From April 2021 onward, he had them send checks to 'St. Francis in Beirut Inc.,' a nonprofit established in March 2021 that was based at the Capuchin Order's NYC friary. 

He also used crowdfunding sources to raise $78,000 and Zelle payments to receive donations, according to the complaint. 

In December 2021, Bielecki emailed  a donor from Pennsylvania, wishing them a happy holiday season. A few weeks later, he told them he was going to be 'buying a new ambulance' that would 'allow [him] to visit villages far north and provide medical help.' 

The victim replied on January 15, 2022, saying their 'many prayers for an ambulance were answered' and said a $10,000 deposit would be send him to 'next week.' 

A few days after receiving the large sum, he Googled 'laser-assisted liposuction' and then attended an appointment for a 'body contouring examination' on February 15, 2022. While there, he scheduled a $15,000 plastic surgery procedure, the complaint alleged. 

He allegedly transferred more than $600,000 to two credit card companies for personal expenses, including a $334-a-month gym and multiple trips to the Hamptons. He also transferred $50,000 to his personal bank accounts and spent $15,000 on plastic surgery (pictured: Beirut in 2020) 

The same day as his consultation, he emailed the Pennsylvania donor, saying that he had already assisted a 'few villages with medical help.' 

'People were crying,' he wrote. 'Almost a year we could not reach out to them. We did not have ambulance, and thanks to you we have it now :).' 

Around March, 15, 2022, he emailed the donor again, telling them he was doing he 'best to keep surgeries running' and to continue to 'visit villages.' 

Meanwhile, financial records show he had actually paid for a New York taxi, spent more than $430 at a high-end men's clothing store in the city, and used his debit cards for multiple other purchases, the complaint said. 

By the end of his scheme, the donor and her husband had given Bielecki $84,000 and exchanged more than 150 emails. 

On his tax returns from 2020-2022, which were shared with the friary, he listed United Nations work, which he claimed was from performing advanced scientific research for them.  

He gained the money through donations between 2015 and 2024 as he claimed to be a surgeon with multiple PhDs who ran two medical clinics in Lebanon

'I believe that BIELECKI has used his purported “UN-DARPA” work to disguise income he received from his fraudulent scheme,' special agent, Sean Smyth, wrote in the complaint. 

The friary attempted to verify his claim and on August 11, 2022, they received an email claimed that 'Dr. Bielecki' did work for them. 

When they requested an in-person visit, the allegedly 'dr. PHaakon Sonderburg-Glucksburg' said he was based in South Asia and could not do so. When they asked to meet with Dr. Sonoda, who Bielecki's 'contract' was signed with, Glucksburg said she had retired. 

Both of their email addresses were attached to a recovery account that belonged to Bielecki. The accounts were also made the same day the friary inquired about his scientific work.  

The Polish-born friar also went by many pseudonyms, including “Paul [His Royal Highness] Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. 

In addition, Bielecki's file at the friary contained a fake diploma from medical school that was dated May 2020 and a handwritten entry that said he received the degree in Paris, France in 2007, when he would have been a missionary in Lebanon at the time.

The friar's own order turned him in August 2023 after Father Robert Abbatiello reported him for suspicious behavior to the US Attorney's Office. Bielecki faces 40 years in prison if convicted

The friar's own order turned him in August 2023 after Father Robert Abbatiello reported him for suspicious behavior to the US Attorney's Office, according to the New York Post. 

'Until recently, there was no reason to suspect the veracity of his credentials,' Abbatiello said. 'The province conducted a vigorous internal investigation which revealed Friar Paul was not who he represented himself to be.

'The friars are offended and scandalized by Father Paul’s betrayal of our trust and those of the other people he deceived.' 

Bielecki faces 40 years in prison if convicted. 

He joined the Capuchin Franciscans in Krakow in 1994 and some of his New York constituents were shocked to hear he was a fraud. 

'Are you serious?' Ralph Succar, 66, who helped raised thousands to aid the Middle East, told The Post. 

'Oh my God, that’s the worst news I’ve heard in years.'