The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. Many parents were outraged with the initial decision not to press charges, with some remarking that if the nuns were lay people, they would certainly be in jail according to the presstelegram. After taking a vow of poverty, her excuse for lavish gambling expenses is hilarious. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. "She's 80. Sister Mary is not full of grace. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. Kreuper, who pleaded guilty last summer to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II to pay more than $825,000 in restitution. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. The judges sentencing came as detractors and supporters showed up over Zoom to testify against or pledge their support for Kreuper, who had been a nun for 62 years. Sister Mary Margaret was making bank (very illegally) through laundering and threw everyone off of the scent by reminding them of her vow of poverty. She called her crimes a "violation of my vows, my commandments, the law and, above all, the sacred trust that so many had placed in me". Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal. But as the archdiocese was completing its audit, it noticed something was off with the funding. 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Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering after she admitted to investigators that she embezzled hundreds of thousands of. In June 2021, Mary Margaret Kreuper, a Catholic nun in the Los Angeles congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, entered into a plea agreement with the U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, whereby she committed to pleading guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and admitted taking part in a 10-year scheme to defraud St. James' Catholic School, an elementary school in Torrance, California, where she had served as principal for 28 years, to the amount of $835,000. She then used some of the funds to pay for "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.. His findings unraveled the entire scheme and, eventually, federal charges were levied against Sister Mary Margaret. It was only after she vacated her position that school officials unearthed her fraudulent scheme. I have sinned, I have broken the law and I have no excuses, Kreuper told the judge during her hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times. A NUN is set to plead guilty to embezzling more than $830,000 from the Catholic elementary school she ran to bankroll her gambling habit, prosecutors say. Wright acknowledged in court that while he struggled to judge Kreuper, a decorated principal, on the worst thing that shes done in her life, the impact nuns have on young people in leading by example is crucial and the nuns actions gambled away that guiding principle. But, Fisher counters, that "this isn't something you measure with a stopwatch." Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. She claimed that the salary differential between nuns and priests meant she was owed this money, which is inconsistent with the vow of poverty she took.. Kreuper belongs to the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, who took a vow of poverty, begged a judge to show her mercy and spare her prison, saying: "I have sinned, I've broken the law and I have no excuses." She called her crimes a "violation of my vows, my commandments, the law and, above all, the sacred trust that so many had placed in me". Instead, the school's principal, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was stealing the money and using it to bankroll her gambling habit, federal prosecutors said, violating her vow of poverty. The two announced their retirement at the same time and were on their way out in 2018. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, a former principal at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used tuition fees and donations to subsidize casino gambling expenses and credit card. At Monday's argument, Stanford law professor Jeff Fisher, who is representing the teachers, will tell the justices that by the terms of the teachers' contracts and the school handbooks, these teachers were hired to teach academic subjects. Local 10 Newsreported Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang of St.James Catholic School(both retiring earlier this year) using money from the schools funds to live a life of luxury over the last ten years. In 2012, the Supreme Court sought to answer that question, agreeing unanimously that a fourth-grade teacher who was commissioned as a minister could not sue over her firing by a Lutheran school. However, the church chose not to press charges against the two nuns. When first confronted by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper blamed the gender pay gap and said she deserved a raise because "priests get paid better than nuns". American sister stole money from accounts she controlled as a headteacher and used it to pay off credit card charges and "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos". This is because, as part of the plea deal, the prosecutors have agreed to recommend to the court an "offense level" of 25 for Kreuper's crimes, and will further advise the court to reduce that to 23, or even 22. If Kreuper has no prior criminal history, under federal sentencing guidelines the sentencing range should be between 41 and 57 months (between around three-and-a-half and five years), though the court will have the final say in her punishment. Local 10 News reported Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang of St.James Catholic School (both retiring earlier this year) using money from the school's funds to live a life of luxury over the last ten years. As soon as she was confronted, she accepted full responsibility for what she had done and she has cooperated completely with law enforcement and the archdiocese, the statement said, adding that she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment. One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. She was the principal and had been colluding with longtime teacher Sister Lana Chang on the operation, per the Daily Breeze. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Nun stops burglary with quick thinking and prayers: This is Gods property, Sister Andre, the worlds oldest living person, dies at 118, I was a celibate nun for 24 years then fell in love with a Catholic monk, Priest accused of inviting two nuns to take part in a threesome. This article was published more than1 year ago. One parent told the outlet of the situation: "It's crazy. LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Mary Margaret Kreuper, a now-retired nun who was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud and money laundering charges. According to prosecutors, Kreuper admitted that she falsified monthly and annual reports to the school administration to cover up her fraudulent conduct and lulled St James School and the administration into believing that the schools finances were being properly accounted for and its financial assets properly safeguarded, which, in turn, allowed defendant Kreuper to maintain her access and control of the schools finances and accounts and, thus, continue operating the fraudulent scheme.. During his sentencing, Wright, a 2007 appointee under President George W. Bush, praised Kreuper for her tenure as one heck of a teacher at the school. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, told The Post his client had accepted the judges one-year prison sentence, even if they were pushing for probation. The schools, "have never asserted that either of [the teachers] fell short in any religious duty or adherence to the faith," he says. They have been removed from their residence, placed in a religious house under the supervision of community leadership, and their freedom of movement is confined.". To know that she had been taking money from my parents and my peers parents the whole time I was there is extremely shocking, and it sways me away from the Catholic Church, Garunkstis said. Sister Mary Margarets lawyers said that she is very remorseful, and has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgement and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done.. Instead of sitting in the Supreme Court chamber, though, Biel, like the rest of us, will be at home listening. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering for ripping off St. James Catholic School for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, according to . Despite the ongoing thefts, financial statements revealed the church continuing to operate in the black as the two sisters clandestinely plowed through church funds. The Greatest Food Debates Of All Time, Answered Pineapple On Pizza? She's obviously not employable.". "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=47402'; This large chunk of stolen money came as the St. James Catholic School was operating under tight budgets with small concerns that the finances could not continue to keep the door open. The archdiocese of Los Angeles said in statement that the community of faith at St James was shocked and saddened by these actions and expressed gratitude to local and federal law enforcement agencies for their work in the investigation of this matter. Nuns should realize that just by living their lives and living the way they do and treating people the way they do, they affect children for the rest of their lives, the judge said, according to the Los Angeles Times. On Monday night, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents and alumni at a meeting that Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, described as best friends, took around $500,000 from St . We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. When Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper became a nun, she took vows to live as Jesus did through chastity, obedience and service to the poor, sick and uneducated. When first confronted, Mr Kumar said, the nun claimed she "did it in part because she believes priests get paid better than nuns". According to the outlet, "Kreuper acknowledged diverting money to pay for personal expenses that included credit card charges and 'large gambling expenses incurred at casinos,' the U.S. attorney's office said.". Kreuper retired as principal of St. James' Catholic School in 2018, after holding that position for 28 years. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. The pair confessed to using the funds for gambling excursions to Las Vegas and other spending sprees. I wanted to see them. We've received your submission. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. Monday's case, however, does not involve trained and ordained ministers of the faith. However, around the same time, a family at the school asked for an old check they had written to St. James. St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. When Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was 18 years old, she vowed to dedicate her life to the education of children and helping those in need. The first teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru, claimed her employment contract was not renewed after 16 years service because of illegal age discrimination. Sister Lana Chang, a vice principal who was initially implicated in the scheme, was not charged. I wanted them to see me," he says "and I just pray that the justices see the right way.". Make sure you see our stories daily directly to your inbox. Prosecutors said that she had also instructed school employees to alter and destroy financial records. But they asserted that the courts should dismiss the cases because the teachers were essentially ministers, and thus were not protected under the federal employment laws. On June 9, for example, Fox News reported that: A retired Los Angeles nun will plead guilty to embezzling $835,000 from the elementary school where she worked in order to cover her gambling habits and other personal expenses, officials said this week. Shes very, very remorseful and very ashamed, he said. var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; Two nuns who formerly worked at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, confessed to embezzling at least $500,000 from the school so that they could gamble it away at Las Vegas casinos, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said at a meeting with parents and alumni on Monday. Meyers reported it to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who hired their own auditor. Kreuper originally pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering back in 2021. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. Kreuper was 18 years old when she took her vow of poverty, according to her lawyers, and spent the next 59 years of her life dedicated to the church. All rights reserved. A now-retired nun has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $800,000 from the St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, from 2008 to 2018, the last decade of her 28-year tenure as principal of the institution. Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. "Far from it. BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. "These teachers taught the Catholic faith to these kids more than the parish priest," putting them squarely within the so-called ministerial exception, he says. znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr); Kreuper as the schools principal, handled all tuition payments, with the sister depositing checks into a separate account that she and Chang had access to. They dont want you to see this Big Tech does its best to limit what news you see. All they needed to do was get through the school year. Since 2014, The Marshall Project has been curating some of the best criminal justice reporting from around the web. He added, Its not meant as an excuse. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, months after she admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from St. James Catholic School in Torrance . (deployads = window.deployads || []).push({}); (function() { Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. There is another, and rather rich, twist to one of the cases before the court Monday. According to prosecutors, Kreuper had stolen whats estimated to have been the tuition for 14 students at the K-8 school in funds that were intended to further the students education, not fund [Kreupers] lifestyle., When confronted, the defendant admitted to stealing the money, Kumar said. It is "telling," in these cases, he says, that the "teachers did not even have to be Catholic to have these jobs.". "I wanted to face them. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79,of Los Angeles, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on Tuesday for defraudingSt. James Catholic Schoolover a period of 10 years. She just enjoyed gambling, he said. The two would skim money off of the top through separate school bank accounts and then head out to Vegas and put it into the casinos. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips, according to the release. In the audio, as well as in a previous Web version, of this story, we incorrectly say the fourth-grade teacher in a 2012 case was ordained as a minister. At least, thats where they caught her. The DOJ noted that Kreuper had diverted the school funds to pay for expenses that the order [of nuns] would not have approved. Among the expenses Kreuper accrued were those from casinos and credit card charges. Jaclyn Peiser contributed to this report. It involves two fifth-grade teachers at Catholic schools in California. })(); Adriana Kuch attackers identified on social media in planned attack, St Louis execution shooting of homeless man: arrest made, Karen calls cops on black men shovelling snow for free outsider her home, Idaho murder suspect had multiple photos of female victim on phone, Torrance Catholic school nuns steal $500K for gambling habit- church resists charges. For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is tackling a major religion case. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed into gambling jaunts in Las Vegas. Julija Garunkstis, a St. James mother who attended the school between 2005 and 2014, said Kreuper had shaken her faith. Five of the nine justices hearing Monday's case attended Catholic secondary schools, and several of them have sent their children to parochial schools as well. "Requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister or punishing a church for failing to do so intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision," Roberts said. Image Via Scott Varley/Digital First Media/ Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images. In these records you will find the most recent and the most authoritative articles on the topics, people and events that are shaping the . The Rev. Because the funds were to be restored, the archdiocese decided not to press criminal charges. Her embezzlement activities took place from about 2008-2018. His wife, he said, drove into their driveway "in tears bawling hysterically. Kreuper pleaded guilty last July. 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