Why did Homeland Security raid Catholic Diocese of Jackson? It starts with a priest.
The Office of Homeland Security raided the Catholic Diocese of Jackson office investigating accusations a Starkville priest obtained money by lying about having cancer when in fact he was HIV positive and was sent to a Canadian sexual addiction facility for priests.
An affidavit by Homeland Security Special Agent William Childers was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Jackson. The search of the Jackson Diocese apparently took place Nov. 7.
The affidavit says Homeland Security Investigations have developed probable cause to believe the Rev. Lenin Vargas-Gutierrez, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Starkville, knowingly devised schemes of obtaining money by means of false and fraudulent pretense, through the use of wire communications.
The affidavit refers to Lenin Vargas-Gutierrez as Father Vargas after the initial introduction. A native of Mexico, he was ordained a priest in the Jackson diocese in 2006.
Childers' affidavit said the diocese had knowledge of Vargas' felony and concealed it by not making it immediately known.
The Diocese of Jackson issued the following statement Monday:
"Earlier this week the government began an investigation of the financial administration of St. Joseph in Starkville. St. Joseph Parish and the Diocese of Jackson are cooperating 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.
"After receiving complaints, Bishop Joseph Kopacz ordered an internal accounting audit of the Starkville Parish’s finances. After Bishop Kopacz’ staff conducted the audit, the Diocese placed fiscal constraints on Father Vargas’ spending and found that he was violating diocesan policy concerning soliciting charitable donations and demanded that he stop these activities and conduct no further charitable fundraising without first informing the diocese of these planned activities. Federal law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, better known as HIPPA, prohibits our discussion of Father Vargas’ medical condition — not only when we first learned of it, but also throughout the time period mentioned in the affidavit. In fact, HIPPA law continues to bind us today in that we can neither admit nor deny anything related to Rev. Vargas’ medical condition."
In Vargas' absence, the diocese saidthe Rev. Jeffrey Waldrep, pastor of Annunciation in Columbus, will serve as administrator, and the Rev. Rusty Vincent will be responsible for all pastoral ministry at St. Joseph and at Corpus Christi in Macon.
"The continued spiritual and financial well being of St. Joseph Parish and Corpus Christi is of the utmost importance, and we will continue to aid you both in sound fiscal management of all of your resources. Let us pray with trust that the Lord Jesus will shepherd us through this difficult time of upheaval and uncertainty," the diocese said.
The affidavit said agents met with five confidential informants with years of experience with the diocese in August or September.
Affidavit highlights of confidential informants' statements
- Confidential informant No. 1 reported that in late 2014 Vargas went to the Oktibbeha County Hospital Regional Medical Center for breathing trouble. Vargas stayed in the hospital for several days.
After Vargas was discharged, he invited the confidential informant to dinner and told him he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer — Walden Storm's macroglobulinemia lymphoma.
Vargas told the informant that the Diocese of Jackson was sending him to Canada for treatment because the Canadian hospital was one of the few hospitals that dealt with the type of rare cancer.
The informants said Vargas announced from the pulpit numerous times to St. Joe parishioners that he had cancer.
In April and May of 2015, an announcement appeared in the church bulletin, providing an address of Vargas for those parishioners who wished to send him mail. The address listed was the address of Southdawn Institute, "founded to address the need of religious and clergy around addictions and mental health issues."
A GoFundMe account was established for Vargas' benefit to cover medical expenses. Also, an informant said Vargas raised money for his alleged cancer from private donations as well.
Agents confirmed the GoFundMe account and that 57 people donated $9,210.
The GoFundMe narrative said that while Vargas has medical insurance, the costs associated with his cancer were high and that bills continued to be significant, and that donated funds would be deposited into the account. Three confidential informants told Homeland Security agents that the Diocese of Jackson's medical coverage for priests is very good and effectively covers everything, and that Vargas' medical expenses were covered.
The narrative contained a disclaimer that the Diocese of Jackson wasn't responsible for this campaign.
- Confidential informant No. 2 told agents he learned from a reliable source that Vargas didn't have cancer and was in fact diagnosed with HIV in 2014. The informant said the information was forwarded to Bishop Joseph Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson in 2015.
Information provided by the informant was corroborated by agents who subpoenaed Vargas' medical records from Oktibbeha County Hospital Regional Medical Center. The doctor ordered a HIV test. On Sept. 28, 2014, Vargas checked out of the hospital without seeing his doctor.
On July 16, 2016, Vargas went to Oktibbeha County Hospital Medical Associates for right knee pain and reported he had HIV. He reported on two other occasions that he was HIV positive, according to the court affidavit.
The cover-up allegation
In April 2015, Vargas left St. Joseph and went to Canada for treatment, informing parishioners during Mass that he was going for cancer treatment.
One of the informants said Vargas actually went to Southdown Institute of Toronto, Canada, which among other things, is a sexual addiction facility for priests.
In March 2015, the Diocese of Jackson furthered Vargas' cancer story by sending out email to priests in the diocese. Two informants said they believe the diocese was aware of Vargas' diagnosis when he was sent to Canada.
"The Diocesan email stated that Vargas would be leaving for extensive treatment in the near future, and that he would be gone for a few months. What the email failed to state was that Vargas was not going away for cancer treatment. As a result, Vargas continued to raise money for his supposed cancer treatment. Your affiant (Agent Childers) believes the email was sent in order to perpetuate the cancer story, to hide Vargas' HIV condition and protect the Diocese of Jackson from negative publicity," the affidavit said.
In addition to the GoFundMe account money, St. Joseph parishioners and others donated more than $33,000 to Vargas and most of the money was spent on personal expenses. Two informants said that as of this year, Vargas was still claiming he had cancer.
Additionally, Vargas was raising money for an orphanage in Mexico, but authorities said he never provided any letter or correspondence from a Mexican orphanage and never provided receipts.
Vargas is also alleged to have solicited money for a chapel in Mexico.
Informants said Vargas spent excessively, especially by standards for priests.
According to the affidavit, in October 2017, Bishop Kopacz and Vicar General Kevin Slattery were informed by concerned clergy that Vargas was raising significant amounts of money from parishioners for cancer treatment and unverified charitable causes. The bishop and Slattery were told that Vargas was making numerous trips to Mexico and that money was missing from the parish coffers.
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