KNOXVILLE, TN – Constantine D. Christodoulou, former treasurer of St. George Greek Orthodox Church from which he stole $415,950, has filed for bankruptcy according to U.S. Bankruptcy Court records, as reported in the Knoxville News Sentinel. Christodoulou claims to have just $20 left in his pocket and a small amount of assets while facing huge debts.
The court records say he does not own a home, makes $2,000 a month and $1,917 of that is spent each month, plus his debts amount to $618,702 with $224,675 of that owed to St. George Church, as reported in News Sentinel.
Christodoulou’s theft from the church was exposed in February 2015 forcing him to sell his stock in a travel agency which makes up most of his remaining assets, $8,277 which lawyer Lynn Tarpy is requesting that Christodoulou be allowed to keep.
Christodoulou was treasurer for five years at the church, stealing close to a half million dollars, and pleading guilty in January 2016 in Knox County Criminal Court. He was sentenced to repay the stolen funds, as well as one year of jail time and nine years probation. According to records, as the Knoxville News Sentinel reported, Christodoulou served his time and has paid back a little more than half of the stolen funds to the church. Filing for bankruptcy will not cancel Christodoulou’s remaining debt to the church since the law does not allow those who file for bankruptcy protection to avoid paying their debts.
In his petition, Christodoulou claims to owe $312,000 to Maryville CBBC bank and $20,000 to Discover plus the amount owed to the church, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel report.
Though the theft was revealed in February 2015, what Christodoulou did with the money remains a mystery and even the prosecutors did not know, as reported in the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Presiding priest of the church, Fr. Anthony Stratis, sent out a letter to the members of the church informing them that the stealing had taken place for years by the former treasurer.
The crime was not reported to the police by the church until after an article appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel revealing the theft, two months later. Fr. Stratis had noted in the letter to the members “that the church would not seek prosecution,” as reported in the News Sentinel.
With only $2,000 left in the bank, the church leaders decided to take out a loan for $150,000 to help balance the church finances. Fr. Stratis noted that the missing funds forced the church to delay the installation of a fire alarm system previously approved by the members of the church and its leadership, as reported in the News Sentinel. On Greek Easter in April 2015, a fire broke out from a candle that had not been properly extinguished, as Knoxville fire investigators later determined, damaging the dome of the sanctuary, and speeding through the building.
As the News Sentinel reported, “Knoxville fire investigators eventually settled upon candles used in the night service that ended early in the morning as the probable cause of the fire. Someone had tossed a candle in a trash can and didn’t douse it in the tray of sand at the rear of the sanctuary, investigators said.”
A fire alarm system would have undoubtedly helped alert the fire department sooner than a passerby who noticed the flames.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Christodolou’s wife filed for bankruptcy protection as well.
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