James School, before tapping the funds for personal use. Those reports were accurate, and we are issuing a rating of "True.". An 80-year-old nun who gambled away more than $835,000 in school funds was sentenced to twelve months and a day in federal prison Monday, according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79,of Los Angeles, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, She defrauded St. James Catholic Schoolover a period of 10 years, As principal, Kreuper had been in charge of the school's credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations, Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal, Nun, 79, STOLE $835,000 from Catholic school over 10 years to fund her gambling trips, Teenage boy shot friend, 15, in face with his grandad's shotgun after 'being repeatedly humiliated and bullied by him', Apple pie could be CANCELED after writer links treat to genocide and cultural appropriation, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have 'done nothing but seek publicity' since leaving UK, former Palace aide claims, Woman, 21, records terrifying moment Uber driver relentlessly pesters her for sex despite her telling him 'no', Inside Bidens 30million G7 ring of steel with warships, The Beast & 400 Secret Service agents watching his every move, Murder probe scuppered after alligator makes off with dead body found floating in river, JBSA Lackland put on lockdown after shooting outside Air Force base in San Antonio. Make sure you see our stories daily directly to your inbox. The Archdiocese appears to have now changed course-with ABC Newsreporting a criminal case may now be in the works following deepening investigations. 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. Kreuper has agreed to plead guilty to the charges in a deal with prosecutors, the US Attorney's Office of California said in a statement. By signing up to the Blaze News newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from Blaze Media that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. "You don't want the government deciding who teaches religion we don't do that in this country that's why we have an establishment clause," says Rassbach. 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. My actions were in violation of my vows, my commandments, the law and, above all, the sacred trust that so many had placed in me. Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. She is set to be arraigned in court on July 1. The church body in the case commissions teachers as ministers, but does not ordain them. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. Mr Kumar said that jealousy played a part, calling the episode "really an abuse of position of trust". Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. His findings unraveled the entire scheme and, eventually, federal charges were levied against Sister Mary Margaret. Apparently, the Vegas trips were common knowledge, but the nuns explained that the gambling excursions were gifts from a rich uncle. "Far from it. The scheme was uncovered during an audit after Kreuper retired in 2018. Monday's case, however, does not involve trained and ordained ministers of the faith. 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. When this was going on, she was not nearly as old. All rights reserved. When staff members finally found the check, they realized that it was not deposited in a St. James account, but a different bank account. 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. Months after Kreuper admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the 80-year-old was sentenced on Monday to a year and a day in federal prison. She wanted more than she had.. But how do we define who is a minister and who is not? Get the news that matters most delivered directly to your inbox. BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. The Greatest Food Debates Of All Time, Answered Pineapple On Pizza? Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes. Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. The sisters later confessed to using the funds for themselves. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers, Meyers wrote in a letter to parents on Nov. 28. As outlined in her plea agreement, beginning in 2008, Kreuper began depositing tuition checks and donations into the school's account and then diverted the money into the covenant account. For more information about our use of cookies, our collection, use, and disclosure of personal information generally, and any rights you may have to access, delete, or opt out of the sale of your personal information, please view our, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. They added that "later in her life, she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done.. "She's 80. Because the funds were to be restored, the archdiocese decided not to press criminal charges. znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr); 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". 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.. His . In a statement to the Washinton Post her attorneys, Mark A. Byrne and Daniel V. Nixon, said she is very remorseful and sorry for any harm she has caused.. Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty as a nun, worked as a principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years and allegedly embezzled the funds for 10 years until her retirement in 2018. The principal allegedly withheld some of the checks and deposited them into the other account, endorsing the back with a stamp that read, St. Kobe Bryant's widow awarded nearly $29m after police shared photos of helicopter crash, Doctors recommend end-of-life decision for Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore, Ramon Escobar: Serial murderer suspected of killing prison inmate. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". Of course, at 79, the likelihood that Sister Mary Margaret will see any jail time is relatively slim. Indeed, he observes, they would be exempt not just from anti-discrimination laws, but also laws that protect individuals from retaliation when they report misbehavior to authorities, and laws imposing wage and hour regulations. 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. Prosecutors said that she had also instructed school employees to alter and destroy financial records. Rather, he said, she is religiously trained and a commissioned minister of the church. (RELATED: Nuns Allegedly Stole Catholic School Funds For Years: Report). Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. As principal of St. James Catholic School, she oversaw the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees as well as charitable donations. The fraud was discovered after an internal investigation at the end of the same year. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. Police will still present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, NBC reported. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. She betrayed the trust of people in the community, the parents, students, the archdiocese and the sisters. ", "Just as teaching science out of a fifth-grade textbook doesn't make them scientists, teaching religion for 40 minutes a day out of a workbook doesn't make them ministers," he says. Ultimately, he argues, the schools consider the teachers to be performing an important religious function, and therefore, they can be fired for any reason because they are not subject to the nation's fair employment laws. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper A curated collection of links The Record What are records? The vow leads a nun to imitate Jesus, who for our sake became poor, although he was rich. Meyers reported it to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who hired their own auditor. In the process, Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to the St. James 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, according to court documents. 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. 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. A spokesperson with St. James did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Kreuper, who took vows of poverty at age 18 and spent 59 years in the religious order, said in her plea agreement that she had begun diverting money from the schools tuition and donation account to a savings account that funded the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school and then used some of the money herself. Chief Justice John Roberts announced the opinion from the bench, noting that the teacher who brought the case was not a lay teacher. A Los Angeles nun recently pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000. Kreuper signed the plea agreement, which Snopes has obtained and which can be read in full here, on June 2, 2021. Mary Margaret Kreuper of Los Angeles was sentenced to one year and a day in prison after pleading guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according. However, the church chose not to press charges against the two nuns. The 79-year-old former nun pleaded guilty to federal charges for stealing more than $800,000 from St. James Catholic School earlier this month. Parents and alumni of St. James told KTTV-TV in late 2018 that they hoped the school followed through with pursuing criminal complaints against Kreuper and Chang. Trust shouldnt be broken like that., Others, such as Kevin Kearns, whose son had gone to the school, said the nun had put the students and parents above everything else., The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us, Kearns said. Officials said Kreuper 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.. All they needed to do was get through the school year. She faces up to 40 years in federal prison, but is claiming mental illness. It's very disturbing. But the court's eventual decision could reach beyond teachers, affecting the lives of millions of other employees who work for religiously affiliated institutions. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. Mary Margaret Kreuper (Image source: KTTV-TV video screenshot). 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. The schools denied that Morrissey-Berru and Biel were fired for discriminatory reasons. Sister Lana Chang, a vice principal who was initially implicated in the scheme, was not charged. })(); 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. Kreuper took fellow nuns on some of those trips and spent thousands of the primary school's money. Claiming mental illness at her age is a play for probation or the ability to serve her sentence at home. But Fisher counters that function can't be the only criterion because many employers at religiously affiliated institutions sincerely believe that all of their employees perform important ministerial functions, from nurses who care for the sick, to summer camp counselors for troubled teenagers, and athletic coaches who mold the character of their charges and often lead them in prayer. By that math, Sister Mary Margaret was only 66 when the behavior began. Michael Meyers, the churchs monsignor, said Kreuper was very nervous and anxious during the audit and she reportedly asked staff members to change school records. But. The pair confessed to using the funds for gambling excursions to Las Vegas and other spending sprees. The Torrancepair used the money for vacations and gambling at the casino while telling parents that the school was on a tight budget. After taking a vow of poverty, her excuse for lavish gambling expenses is hilarious. US District Court Judge Otis Wright acknowledged his own anguish in deciding a punishment to fit the crime, saying "I haven't slept well in God knows how long" as he rejected prosecutors' call for a two-year sentence. Kreuper pleaded guilty last July. 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 Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. It's just that you have to look and see what kind of function are they doing.". She also controlled two savings accounts, one for the school and one for the nuns living expenses. A spokesperson for the order confirmed for Snopes that, as of June 9, 2021, Kreuper was still a member of the Los Angeles congregation, but the restrictions against her remained in place, and she was no longer involved in any public ministry. ", Church says nuns embezzled from SoCal school to cover Vegas gambling tripswww.youtube.com. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper used tuition fees and donations to a California Catholic school to subsidize her casino expenses. Kreuper retired as principal of St. James' Catholic School in 2018, after holding that position for 28 years. 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 . 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. She was so hurt that they could be doing this to her.". While claiming to live financially destitute like Jesus Christ is probably blasphemous, using the old Im poor, but my uncle is rich line and getting away with it speaks to Sister Mary Margarets impressive poker face. It involves two fifth-grade teachers at Catholic schools in California. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. Image Via Scott Varley/Digital First Media/ Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images. In her plea agreement, Sister Mary Margaret confirmed that the stolen money was used for credit card charges and large gambling expenses incurred at casinos. the U.S. attorneys office said. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who worked as the school principal for 28 years, and Sister Lana Chang, a teacher at the school for 20 years, reportedly bilked the funds over a period of at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported. Maybe if she had used her poker face to see more success in Vegas, she wouldnt have been in this position to begin with. The school soon had a change of heart following pushback. "I wanted to face them. Bank records show Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had been embezzling funds from St. James Catholic School in Torrance for at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported. She admitted to taking a total of $835,000 in donations from the elementary school, and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. Similar articles were published by the Los Angeles Times, KTLA, and Unilad.co.uk. For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is tackling a major religion case. For more information about our use of cookies, our collection, use, and disclosure of personal information generally, and any rights you may have to access, delete, or opt out of the sale of your personal information, please view our Privacy Policy. All rights reserved. Her attorney said Kreuper will be on supervised release for two years once her prison sentence is complete. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students., The school monsignor has since sent out a letter in which the nuns asked that i convey to you the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers.. 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. St. James teacher Lana Chang admitted along with Kreuper to the embezzlement in 2018, following each of their retirements earlier that year. Asking for the nun to be spared from prison, her lawyer Mark Byrne told the court she has been kept under "severe restrictions" at a convent by the nuns in her order. Kreuper became principal at St. James Catholic School in 1990, a position she held for 28 years until her retirement in September 2018. Margaret Mary Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were accused of embezzling tuition, fees, and donations made in favor of St. James Catholic School to fund their gambling trips (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) Kreuper is also accused of directing St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. Investigators determined the money went to accounts the school didnt know about, Kumar said. Kreuper belongs to the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Officials made the discovery in June after performing a routine audit following Kreupers retirement. 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. 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. Fraud and money laundering charges nun pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $ 800,000 to fund a gambling habit admitted. Archdiocese of Los Angeles nun recently pleaded guilty to federal charges were levied against sister Mary Margaret Kreuper Image! School 's money trips were common knowledge, but the nuns living expenses part, the... Her sentence at home ( RELATED: nuns Allegedly Stole Catholic school subsidize. 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