Humboldt Park priest bilked Nazi camp survivor out of $350K, prosecutors say
The ex-priest of a Ukrainian Orthodox church in Humboldt Park has been charged with swindling an elderly parishioner who survived a Nazi internment camp out of about $350,000.
Nicholas Chervyatiuk faces felony counts of theft and financial exploitation of an elderly person with a disability, according to Cook County court records.
The 57-year-old formerly led Holy Patronage Church, 900 N. Washtenaw, where 96-year-old Nelly Bridgeman attended service and worked for years as a secretary, according to Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert.
In 2015, Chervyatiuk assumed power of attorney for Bridgeman, who suffers from dementia and came to the United States as a refugee from Ukraine after being detained in a Nazi internment camp, Golbert said.
As the priest began funneling money from her savings into his own accounts, bank employees grew suspicious and notified the public guardian’s office, which filed suit against Chervyatiuk in 2016 to recover Bridgeman’s money, Golbert said.
Chervyatiuk, who was barred from the church after the allegations surfaced, has denied any wrongdoing, saying he considered it payment for the care he provided her, according to the Chicago Tribune.
“I think it was time for me to get paid . ... Nelly wanted it that way,” the newspaper quoted him as testifying.
He eventually agreed to pay most of the money back and now makes periodic payments after handing over a lump sum of more than $200,000 that is supporting Bridgeman’s care at a suburban nursing home, according to Golbert.
The public guardian said Bridgeman has understood the case “in a vague way” and that she was pleased with the criminal charges.
“She said she was glad that he would not be able to do this to anybody else,” Golbert said. “Getting a financial recovery is very satisfying. Complete justice requires criminal sanctions as well. We’re at the first step of that happening.”
Chervyatiuk was jailed on $5,000 bail at a Thursday hearing, court records show. He remained in custody as of Thursday night and will have to surrender his passport if he bonds out.
Golbert said financial exploitation of the elderly is “hugely on the rise” in Cook County, making up about 40 percent of his office’s new cases
“The people who break that trust need to know that if you do this, you’re going to have to pay the person back civilly, and you’re going to go to jail,” he said.