Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church

Stepping inside the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church, one can almost feel the weight of its tumultuous past. The Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church, located in Auckland, has a history marked by both faith and controversy. This church, specifically serving the Samoan community, has no connection with the official Seventh-day Adventist Church in New Zealand. In 2013, Charities Services initiated an investigation into the church’s finances, eventually leading to the involvement of the Serious Fraud Office. The investigation uncovered a series of financial mismanagements. In 2017, former treasurer Elizabeth Papu was sentenced to prison for stealing over $1.6 million from the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church, using some of the funds at a casino. A later investigation revealed further misappropriation by Papu, totaling over $766,000. Another former treasurer, Joseph Stowers, was found to have taken nearly $500,000 in undeclared income in 2017. Pastor Willie Papu Junior also banked over $316,000 from the church and its World Committee account. Pastor Willie Papu himself was found to have engaged in “serious wrongdoing,” taking over $84,000 for himself and his family, and influencing the church to pay an additional $63,000 of his expenses. The church also made risky investments under Pastor Papu’s leadership, including nearly $1 million in OneCoin and $1.7 million in WFE Capital, both flagged as potential scams. Sina Hunt, involved in establishing OneCoin in New Zealand, reportedly took over $200,000 of the church’s funds. The Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church ultimately lost all the money invested in these schemes. The financial fallout has had a lasting impact on the congregation. While Pastor Papu paid back $355,000 in reparations, the money largely came from donations from overseas church members, who also contributed an additional $500,000 to help the church recover. In February 2021, the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church was removed from the Charities Register due to these events, and Pastor Papu and Joseph Stowers were disqualified from being charity officers for four years. Despite the scandal, Pastor Papu maintained his influence within the church, viewing it as a “legacy” built on service and compassion. The Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church stands as a reminder of the complex intersection of faith, finance, and community.