A Chaldean Catholic bishop has been arrested in San Diego and charged with embezzling Church funds.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said Bishop Emanuel Shaleta was arrested on March 5 at San Diego International Airport as the prelate was “attempting to leave the country.”
The sheriff’s office said in a press release that the bishop was charged with multiple counts of embezzlement and money laundering as well as one count of “aggravated white collar crime enhancement.”
Records show Shaleta is being held on $125,000 bail on one of the embezzlement charges. All charges against the bishop are listed as felonies by the sheriff’s office.
Charging information against Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta. | Credit: San Diego Sheriff’s Office website
The sheriff’s office said it had been contacted in August 2025 by a representative of St. Peter Chaldean Cathedral in El Cajon, California. The church member “provided a statement and documents showing potential embezzlement from the church,” which was then investigated by the sheriff’s fraud unit.
Shaleta has served at the San Diego Chaldean eparch since 2017. He was born in Iraq.
