She posed as an evangelical pastor, had another name and scammed parishioners for half a million dollars

The faithful attending the Christian church welcome holy spiritin the Casuarinas urbanization of New Chimbotebelieved in every word of the puerto rican pastor Aracely Weston Ojeda, an adult woman over 59 who asked congregants for money to spread the word of God and support the livelihoods of a group of foreign missionaries. However, behind that face hid an ignoble crook who came to amass a fortune of half a million dollars.

The woman arrived in 1999 at the church headquarters in the Ancash area. She introduced herself as an evangelical preacher who came from the island to help her fellow missionaries. However, the shepherdess was not called that, but her real name was Juanita Argelia Arevalo Delgadoa Peruvian citizen, born in Iquitos, who invented a way to swindle money from the faithful.

He had deceived everyone. To the evangelical pastors who accompanied her in her preaching and to the parishioners who trusted her. Many years have passed for the same devotee to realize that she was a fraud and that she was never on the paths that the Bible predisposes.

There were three church followers who fervently believed the con man’s words: they made money deposits of 80,000, 45,200 and 70,000 soles, respectively. Others involved deposits of smaller sums.

Arevalo Delgado oh Weston Ojeda thank you for the good news. However, it was unclear when the new missionaries would arrive as the evangelical pastor postponed the date.

For eight years, with the money obtained, the crook He traveled twice to Ecuador, then he settled for a time in Lima, but he always returned to the evangelical church of Nuevo Chimbote, his little gold. The parishioners were unaware that this amount was used for their luxuries and destinations.

In 2016, someone discovered her true identity as an accused and proceeded to denounce her. There were few wronged people who accused him; the other victims decided not to report it and only renounced to belong to the church welcome holy spirit.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office, as part of the investigation process against Arevalo Delgadolifted the banking secrecy of the foreign currency account of the crook. There were movements of more than 466 thousand dollars.

The defendant’s attorney said the scammer used the name of Aracely Weston Ojeda as if it were a pseudonym because it is a common practice in religious sects.

Continuing with the story of the missionaries, the lawyer also mentioned that the complaint arose because the church could not comply with the payment of the loans made by the plaintiffs; money supposedly intended for missionaries.

In August 2022, the Seventh Single Person Criminal Court of the Santa Superior Court of Justice declared her guilty of the offense against the patrimony in the modality of aggravated swindle: he pronounced four years of suspended imprisonment in his execution for three years. In summary, the woman is still free despite the fact that the prosecution had requested seven years in prison.

The lawyer of Arevalo Delgado He appealed the judgment because, according to him, the deception had not been proven and the trial had been conducted as if all the members of the church had been defrauded. Despite this, the Second Appeals Chamber upheld the initial decision.

Provision has also been made for the convicted person to undertake to pay a civil indemnity of 1,000 soles to each of the injured parties and to return the money resulting from the fraud.

In addition, a civil remedy of 160 thousand soles to be paid over a period of three years. If you do not comply with this obligation, the sentence may be revoked and your incarceration in Cambio Puente prison ordered.

Arevalo Delgado remain free. You’ll have to pay the money back, but if you obey the law, you’ll never see yourself behind bars, which seems unfair to Alicia Salinas Roldanone of the three injured parties who deposited a large sum of money in the scammer’s account when she believed herself to be an evangelical pastor.

A Salinas Roldan he cheated on her with more than 45,000 soles, arguing that this time it was for the children of missionaries with increasingly absurd excuses.

The person concerned asked the authorities to close the evangelical church welcome holy spirit. According to her, pastors who currently preach the word of God continue to deceive parishioners.