Federal agents have been investigating a Starkville priest after he fraudulently collected donations from the community by falsely claiming he had cancer. A Department of Homeland Security special agent wrote an affidavit which requested warrants toward the Catholic Diocese of Jackson.
According to the affidavit written by Special Agent William G. Childers, Father Lenin Vargas-Gutierrez, who is a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church, is accused of falsely claiming he was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and has since collected monetary donations from the community.
According to subpoenaed medical records, Vargas was actually diagnosed with HIV in 2014, not cancer. He was admitted into Oktibbeha County Hospital on Sept. 22, 2014, with pneumonia due to difficulty breathing; however, his doctor ordered an HIV test to be done on Sept. 26 because his condition had remained stationary.
Since his diagnosis with HIV, Vargas claimed to be fighting Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, which is a rare form of cancer.
According to the affidavit, Vargas previously travelled to Canada for treatment he could not receive in the U.S.
While he was traveling back and forth to Canada, a love offering was given to Vargas from Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Macon, Mississippi, of $2,300, according to the affidavit. Along with this offering, between March and April 2015, Vargas deposited over $20,000 of donations into his Regions account. From November to December 2015, he had deposited over $33,000. Along with these donations, a GoFundMe page was created, “Lenin’s Medical Fund.” According to the site, $9,210 was donated by 57 people.
While claiming to use the collected money to help cover his medical costs, Vargas informed the church he would be going to Canada for his “cancer” treatments in April 2015.
According to one of the informants, Vargas never went to Canada for specialized cancer treatment; however, he went to Southdown Institute of Toronto, which is a facility for priests with addictions and mental health issues. More specifically, agents confirmed Vargas stated the facility was for those with a sexual addiction.
Furthermore, Vargas allegedly raised funds to help an orphanage and a chapel in Mexico; however, he used the money raised for personal expenses.
According to the affidavit, members of the clergy addressed Bishop Joseph Kopacz and Vicar General Kevin Slattery of the Diocese of Jackson with concerns in regards to St. Joseph’s financial and spiritual wellbeing. Therefore, the Slattery and Kopacz were allegedly informed of Vargas raising money to go toward charitable causes like the orphanage and chapel, along with his medical costs.
They were also allegedly told of missing money from St. Joseph’s parish collections and how Vargas was making frequent trips to Mexico; however, Slattery and Kopacz did not further investigate the issue after the meeting.
The Diocese released a statement following the investigation stating the Starkville Parish and its cooperation with the investigation.
“Pending the resolution of the investigation, Father Lenin Vargas will not engage in any public ministry, and has been removed from all pastoral and financial administration,” Father Jeffrey Waldrep said.
Mississippi State University senior Angela Provenzano, who is an educational psychology major, said she has attended St. Joseph’s for the past two years.
Since the affidavit was released, Provenzano stated the parish was told of the investigation before details were made aware to the public; therefore, she believes the outcome was completely unexpected to church members.
“There are definitely feelings of honesty for the people who are still there, but a lot of people are shocked and very hurt, especially the people who have been there through the whole fundraising thing,” Provenzano said.
Although Provenzano was not at the church when this situation first started, she is quite angry and upset.
“I am shocked and angry,” Provenzano said. “I feel violated in a way, even though I was not directly involved in the money part. I’ve been a Catholic my whole life, and you hear about all the scandals going on and how bad they are, but I don’t think you realize that violation of trust until its someone you know. I give people a benefit of a doubt, but I thought he was as genuine as they come. When I found out what actually happened, I was shocked and very disappointed. It makes you realize that church corruption is everywhere, as sad as that sounds.”
Although the situation brings much negativity toward the parish, Provenzano said she believes the students and members of St. Joseph’s are coping very well for the situation at hand.
“Even though what he did is obviously really bad and disgraceful, everyone else in the church is handling as best as they can, and they are doing their best to be honest about it and not cover it up,” Provenzano said. “The students are really coming together. We have a really good Catholic student group to kind of navigate the way through it without brushing it under the rug. I think we are confronting it well as a church. One priest who had his downfalls doesn’t make the whole Church bad. I think the students are doing really good about being positive, and the rest of the priests and deacons are being really transparent about it, which is as pretty good as an atmosphere in this situation. I don’t think it reflects St. Joseph at all. I think he was struggling personally, and it’s sad that it affected so many people in the church.”
No charges have been made to Vargas at this time. GoFundMe will refund those who donated to Vargas’ account.