Prosecutor Joel Madero said the allegations against Shaleta are connected to monthly rental payments of more than $30,000 from a tenant of the church's social hall that allegedly were missing. He said there were discrepancies in church accounts and that Shaleta provided completely unreasonable tales of where that money was going.
On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta was contacted and detained at the San Diego International Airport attempting to leave the country. Shaleta faces eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and one count of aggravated white-collar crime, officials said.
