Safety Harbor Catholic Church lost $12,000 due to unauthorized fees

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Four months after about $12,000 disappeared from the Holy Spirit Old Catholic Church in Safety Harbor’s bank account, the church still hasn’t returned the money.

Bishop Steven Rozewski said the missing funds hurt not only the church but also the community, as the church regularly helps those in need. Now, after successive hurricanes, the church has had to turn some away.

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“We’ve had to drop out of a few organizations because I don’t have the money,” he said.

“It’s a terrible feeling when you’re used to helping people and suddenly you’re paralyzed by forces outside of you that don’t allow you to practice the charity that you consider part of your faith. Taking care of people, watching over them, even having enough money to give people a tank of gas if they have a car. I have to think twice about it because I don’t have the money for it.”

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That’s because back in June, the church noticed multiple charges to their debit card that the church didn’t authorize, including charges of $9,552 and $1,958, as well as a series of $23.88 charges to the web hosting company Go Daddy.

The Old Catholic Church of the Holy Spirit is a small church with just over 150 parishioners. Rozewski said his church could lose a lot of money.

“It was embarrassing and disappointing because it made the community think about whether we are good stewards of our resources,” he said.

Shannon Behnken, a consumer rights researcher, reached out to Go Daddy, and a representative promised to investigate. A few hours later, Rozewski said a company representative called to apologize and said the money would be refunded.

Rozewski said the church was a Go Daddy customer several years ago but had no dealings with the company for several years.

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