Jesus Christ has inspired countless people to do incredibly good things — but not this man from Florida.
Using Jesus as his alibi, John Michael Haskew stole $7 million from a bank, NBC Miami reported. After getting caught, Haskew told authorities that he had already made more than 70 illegal transactions worth $7 billion with a bank routing number that wasn't his, claiming that he did it because "Jesus Christ created wealth for everyone."
He pleaded guilty to a single charge: making a false statement to the federal government. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and $250,000 in fine. Other charges levelled against him have been dropped, as agreed upon in the plea deal.
Haskew, an unemployed man, reportedly told agents he was "self-taught on the banking industry" and figured out how to make the fraudulent wire transfers through a series of trial and error, according to WFTV.
He began to set up the wire transfers on Dec. 9 and 10 from "a large, nationally renowned financial institution," and was arrested on Dec. 16.
When asked why he committed the crime, Haskew answered that he deserved the money. "[He stated] that Jesus Christ created wealth for everyone," the criminal complaint said. "Using this scheme, Haskew believed that he could obtain the wealth that Jesus Christ created for him and that belonged to him."
This was not the first time a person used the Lord's name in vain in trying to justify a crime.
Just last month in Minnesota, a Grand Rapids resident was charged with repeatedly stabbing and bludgeoning a man to death, claiming that he did it because "Jesus directed him to do it," the Herald Review reported.
Sixth Judicial District Judge David Ackerson ordered a mental health evaluation for the 32-year-old suspect, Benjamin David Lundquist.
Lundquist was charged with intentional second-degree murder in the killing of Joel Dean Gangness, who was found lying in a pool of blood inside his apartment. Gangness was stabbed more than a dozen times aside from other injuries he suffered.
Lundquist allegedly told investigators that he stabbed and bludgeoned the victim because "Jesus directed him to do it," the criminal complaint stated.
He also reportedly told investigators that he suffers from bipolar disorder.
