Former priest of Buffalo’s Greek Orthodox church charged with stealing funds

Added: 2026-05-18

[00:00:00]Here tonight, the former leader of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Buffalo is now accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his church. Father Christos Christakos now facing federal charges of bank fraud. Prosecutors say he embezzled money and then used it to help pay for his family's lavish lifestyle. Today, the priest appeared in a Buffalo federal courtroom. 7 News senior reporter Eileen Buckley was there.

[00:00:27]Father, how are you feeling about these charges against you? Father Christos Christakos had no comment as I followed him out of Buffalo's federal courthouse Wednesday with his attorney Terrence Connors. Federal prosecutors charged him with bank fraud accusing him of stealing about $450,000 while he was leader of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church at Delaware and West Utica. Did you expect to be charged? Investigators say the priest changed the church rules back in 2011 giving him complete control over the priest discretionary fund. In this federal complaint, it states that he appeared to be living a lavish lifestyle inconsistent with his salary from the church. It also states that his family of six took regular extravagant first-class vacations to London, Greece, and Paris and the priest and his spouse drove luxury vehicles including Teslas, a BMW, and Mercedes. Do you have any message for your former parishioners? A whistleblower filed a complaint in March of 2025 and initially the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America began its own investigation and that's when the priest admitted to using church money for himself between 2018 and 2025.

[00:01:47]This is obviously a very sorrowful time for all of us at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Buffalo. The new leader of the church, Father Paul Petrides, was at the court proceedings.

[00:01:58]He would not take questions, but read a statement on behalf of his church. We also extend our compassion to Father Christos and to his family.

[00:02:07]I'm sure they are sorrowing as well.

[00:02:11]And we ask God's healing on him and his family and on our entire parish community. And we pray to move forward from this very deep wound.

[00:02:20]If convicted on the charges, Christakis faces up to 30 years in prison and a possible $1 million fine. He returns to court August 26th. Now, the priest had been serving at this church since 2007, but he was fired last June when the church began its own investigation. In Buffalo, Eileen Buckley, 7 News.