Wabasha pastor resigned after allegedly taking $72K from parishioners
Sep. 24—WABASHA, Minn. — A Wabasha pastor, who's being investigated for allegedly taking nearly $72,000 from parishioners, resigned as pastor of St. Felix in Wabasha and St. Agnes in Kellogg on Sept. 1, according to Rev. William Thompson of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.
Thompson said the diocese became aware that Prince Amala Jesuraja Jebamlia Selvaraj's, or Father Prince Raja's, was requesting gifts and loans from parishioners in May. Raja was warned that he would be removed as pastor if his behavior continued.
The diocese requested Raja's resignation after they discovered he requested money from another parishioner. Raja returned to India on July 30 for personal reasons, Thompson said.
"No parish funds were affected by Fr. Prince's actions and the Diocese of Winona-Rochester has communicated all activity and Fr. Prince's resignation to his diocese in India and to local law enforcement," Thompson said. "The Diocese of Winona-Rochester is working with local law enforcement regarding this matter."
According to a search warrant filed on Sept. 16, law enforcement sought information for Raja's BMO Harris account after parishioners came forward to report their interactions with Raja.
One woman told police she was concerned with issues of fraud. The woman told police she received a call from him one day asking if she would meet with him.
When she and her husband met with Raja, he told them he needed $5,500 for a loan he had used for his mother's surgery. The woman told him that she could raise that amount of money for him in two days, but Raja said he would lose his job for asking parishioners for money.
After her meeting with Raja, the search warrant said, she went to discuss the interaction with her friends. One of them said Raja "got her too," court documents said. Her other friend said she had given him money as well.
Another man told police his mother had given the pastor a check for $2,365. Raja told the woman that he needed it to pay Minnesota taxes and didn't have the funds in his account. The check was filed later that same day.
Attorney Thomas Braun contacted law enforcement on Sept. 9 to say he was just made aware of Raja's activities. The officer received a spreadsheet of the money that was given to Raja by parishioners. The spreadsheet detailed the amount of money he asked for, if it had been repaid and if it was a gift or a donation.
Raja allegedly took $71,950 from parishioners.
"This includes a check written to Father Prince from the Diocese to repay what he had taken," the search warrant said.
The spreadsheet showed that $5,530 was repaid to parishioners and $6,965 was gifted to him "for things that the money was not actually used for." The diocese also located $19,000 from a family when he was working as a priest in Wisconsin, which dated between 2019 and 2024.
No charges have been filed against Raja as of Tuesday, Sept. 24.
