OXFORD, Miss. (WCBI) – A former priest at churches in both Starkville and Macon has been indicted on wire fraud.
Lenin Vargas is facing 10 counts of wire fraud in the Northern District of Mississippi. Those are federal charges.
A 37-page affidavit was originally filed in November of 2018 by an agent with Homeland Security.
In it, Vargas is accused of lying about a cancer diagnosis, using schemes to bilk money from people in the parish at St. Joseph’s in Starkville.
The affidavit also accuses Vargas of spending thousands of dollars in donated money for personal use.
The affidavit states that Vargas does not, and has never had cancer. But he is HIV positive.
The document also states that the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Macon also donated more than $20,000 to Vargas under false pretense.
Five confidential informants worked with Homeland Security on the investigation.
Thousands of dollars in donations for cancer treatment, an orphanage in Mexico, and a chapel in Mexico were allegedly transferred to Vargas.
The investigation could not find proof of either the orphanage or chapel.
Federal court documents allege the Catholic Diocese in Jackson was aware parishioners were being defrauded.
The US Attorneys office and the Jackson diocese have entered into a deferred prosecution deal. That means the diocese must fulfill certain requirements set out by the judge or the criminal case against them will continue.
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July 17, 2020 at 02:59AM
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Former Golden Triangle Priest Indicted For Wire Fruad - WCBI
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