Church Bingo Scam in Queens Nets $830,000, Old-School-Style

We thought this "oldest trick in the book" sort of con only happened in movies with smooth-talking snake-oil preachers and gullible townsfolk, but clearly, we were the gullible ones here! According to ABC, three wayward church-goers implemented a bingo scam in Jackson Heights that netted them big bucks, $830,000-big -- until they were caught. Shysters are alive and well, folks.

"The defendants are accused of duping the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America into allowing them to run a bingo hall whose profits were supposed to go to specific charitable causes," Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. "Instead of doing God's work, however, the defendants are alleged to have lined their own pockets with hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to the charities."

Spiros Moshopoulos, 62, of Little Neck, Queens; Tommy Skiada, 49, of Astoria, Queens; and Daniella Radulescu, 46, of Astoria, Queens, were arrested today and are all now facing charges of larceny, money laundering, and illegal gambling.

And then, of course, there's the question of what God will say.

[via ABC]

[JDoll][Twitter]