Bishop Emanuel Hana Shaleta, who has led the Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Saint Peter the Apostle of San Diego since 2017, is accused in published reports of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly more than $1 million, from parish funds, including money designated to assist the poor.
According to a detailed investigative report by The Pillar, irregular banking activity first surfaced in November 2024 at St. Peter’s Chaldean Cathedral in El Cajon, which also serves as the administrative center of the eparchy. Parish finance council members reportedly discovered that monthly rent payments of approximately $33,990 for a church-owned social hall were not coming from the tenant company, but instead were being reimbursed from a parish account earmarked for charitable assistance.
The report alleges that Bishop Shaleta directed the tenant to pay rent to him in cash, then replaced the parish’s rent income with checks drawn from the charity fund, all signed by the bishop himself.
Financial records reviewed by the outlet reportedly show at least eight months of rent payments handled in this manner, totaling $427,345. Additional transactions, including $30,000 in cash reportedly collected for perpetual Mass enrollments for deceased parishioners, were also allegedly reimbursed using funds intended for the poor.
Sources cited in the reporting claim that when additional questionable transactions are considered, the potential total could approach or exceed $1 million.
Shaleta is reported to have told parish leaders that the cash he received was distributed directly to needy families in the United States and abroad. However, according to the investigation, documentation substantiating those charitable distributions has not been produced publicly.
The alleged irregularities were reportedly referred in 2025 to both the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States and the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. The Pillar reports that a civil investigation is underway and that forensic accountants are reviewing financial records to determine whether criminal charges are warranted. The Sheriff’s Department has not publicly confirmed details of any ongoing investigation.
At the same time, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Eastern Churches ordered a canonical investigation in July 2025, delegating the matter to Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles. According to reporting, the bishop submitted his resignation in January 2026 at the request of Vatican officials. That resignation has not yet been accepted, leaving the eparchy in a state of uncertainty.
The financial allegations are only part of what has stunned members of the tight-knit Chaldean community.
The Vatican dossier reportedly includes allegations that Bishop Shaleta made repeated late-night crossings into Tijuana to visit a well-known gentlemen’s club identified in local reporting as a brothel. A private investigator, identified in the published report as a retired FBI agent, stated that he documented the bishop parking in a lot designated for patrons of the establishment and using transportation linked specifically to the club.
Additional claims detailed in the reporting include the existence of a long-standing joint personal bank account with a woman who had previously served as a parish secretary in Michigan, as well as what sources described as an unusually close personal relationship after both relocated to San Diego. The investigator reportedly documented frequent visits between the bishop and the woman’s home, as well as significant time spent with her children.
The dossier also references an incident during a pilgrimage in which Shaleta allegedly performed palm reading, a practice the Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly rejects as a form of divination.
Shaleta has not publicly addressed the allegations and did not respond to media inquiries in the published reports. Supporters within the Chaldean community have expressed disbelief, with some characterizing the situation as a misunderstanding or an attempt to discredit the bishop.
The controversy has also reportedly exposed tensions within the Chaldean Catholic hierarchy. According to The Pillar, Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Sako has voiced concerns about the accusations and has attempted to rally support for Shaleta in Rome. The patriarch has not issued a formal public statement addressing the matter.
Born in 1956 in Fishkhabour, Iraq, Shaleta was ordained a priest in 1984 and later served as bishop of the Chaldean Catholic eparchy in Canada before being appointed to San Diego by Pope Francis on August 9, 2017. The San Diego-based eparchy oversees 19 western states and roughly 20 priests.
For now, no criminal charges have been announced, and the Vatican has not formally ruled on Shaleta’s resignation. But for a community that has long viewed its bishop as both spiritual leader and cultural anchor, the allegations have shaken confidence and placed one of San Diego’s most prominent Eastern Catholic institutions under an unprecedented spotlight.
Originally published on February 21, 2026. Information first reported by The Pillar.
