Plumber who found money in Osteen church gets $20,000 reward

HOUSTON (KTRK) - A Texas plumber is getting a big reward after turning in a stash of cash he found hidden in the walls of Joel Osteen’s megachurch.

Seven years after $600,000 in cash and checks went missing from a safe at Lakewood Church in Houston, a plumber found hundreds of envelopes with some of that money in the walls while he repaired a toilet Nov. 10.

Most of the story remains a mystery, even after the plumber, only identified as Justin, called into “The Morning Bullpen,” a local radio show.

“I was doing some plumbing work at the Lakewood Church, and I discovered their money in the wall that was stolen back in 2014,” said Justin in the call.

Police say Justin’s story checked out. They have since linked the money he found to the unsolved heist.

At the time of the theft, the church donated $20,000 to Crime Stoppers to try to solve the crime. The organization decided Tuesday to gift the money to Justin, an unusual move but one that Lakewood supports.

“Lakewood Church made a $20,000 charitable donation to Crime Stoppers of Houston to help solve this case and support them for all they do for the community. We are appreciative of the plumber, and we hope he pays the gift forward,” said the church in a statement.

After the money was found, the church says it contacted the insurance company, and “the matter is now resolved.”