The two announced their retirement at the same time and were on their way out in 2018. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. I don't drink coffee, I wake up jacked. 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.". When the fraudulent behavior first came to light, the order was deeply disappointed and offered to repay the lost funds only believed to be $500,000 at the time. Officials pointed out that Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty as a nun. But this week, prosecutors said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, had agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. The Los Angeles native embezzled more than $835,000 from the Catholic school in Torrance, Calif., where she was principal to pay for 10 years of personal expenses, including her many gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, according to federal prosecutors. One parent told the outlet of the situation: "It's crazy. Michael Meyers, the pastor at St. James Church. "The Gambling Nuns" saga is unlikely to come up at the Supreme Court, but it certainly is on Darryl Biel's mind. 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. 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. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral. Because the funds were to be restored, the archdiocese decided not to press criminal charges. Her husband said that in her final days, the couple talked extensively about the case. Court documents show that she also oversaw the St. James Convent Account, a savings account that funded the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school. His wife, he said, drove into their driveway "in tears bawling hysterically. The judge settled on a prison sentence of one year and a day and also ordered Kreuper to pay back the money she had stolen from the school. The 80-year-old nun pleaded for mercy after stealing $835,339 from an elementary Catholic school to fund her gambling addiction.. This material may not be reproduced without permission. She is set to be arraigned in court on July 1. Monday's case, however, does not involve trained and ordained ministers of the faith. "Such action interferes with the internal governance of the church, depriving the church of control over the selection of those who will personify its beliefs.". She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. The exception extends to religiously affiliated institutions when they fire employees who serve in a religious capacity akin to that of a minister. Kreuper is due in court on 1 July and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. But, Fisher counters, that "this isn't something you measure with a stopwatch." Around the same time, a St. James parent asked question at a school meeting about an old tuition check that had an endorsement on the back of check that did not line up with the schools primary account, the prosecutor said. As a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. Kumar said the nuns instruction to the auditors sparked suspicion, and they reported the incident to Msgr. Each time, Kreuper had the same response to the community, according to the Times: How do you expect to pay for it? All the while, Kreuper spoke openly about her gambling trips, saying her vice principals wealthy relatives funded the casino excursions to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, prosecutors say. Pic: St James Catholic School. Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars. Starting in 2008, Kreuper diverted school funds to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, prosecutors say. 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). 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. 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 . 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. 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. Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. G7 summit - Biden brings 1.2m Cadillac The Beast but will it fit down Cornwalls tiny country lanes. The now-retired nun (I didnt know nuns could retire) admitted to stealing about $835,000 in donations, tuition and fees. Meyers reported it to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who hired their own auditor. Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the schools before the court, disagrees. The school soon had a change of heart following pushback. 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. 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 payments, the authorities said. We do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account, an attorney told parents and alumni at Mondays meeting. It was only after she vacated her position that school officials unearthed her fraudulent scheme. 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. Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. The nun took frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas and holidays to Lake Tahoe and other locations in southern California, according to Poonam Kumar, the assistant US attorney. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both 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.". 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 . 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. But as the archdiocese was completing its audit, it noticed something was off with the funding. His . James Convent instead of St. Ive used this to teach my son that were all human, we all make mistakes, but the power of forgiveness is the most powerful tool that we have.. 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. Along with her sentence, she was ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. The schools denied that Morrissey-Berru and Biel were fired for discriminatory reasons. Prosecutors say the nun also ordered school employees to alter and destroy financial records during the audit. 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. A spokesperson with St. James did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. Yes, a Nun Has Admitted to Embezzling $835,000 from a Catholic School Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper has been charged with wire fraud and money laundering for her role in a scheme to defraud a. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. 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". Similar articles were published by the Los Angeles Times, KTLA, and Unilad.co.uk. "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 pair said in a joint statement. The pair confessed to using the funds for gambling excursions to Las Vegas and other spending sprees. Well, Sister Mary Margaret didnt quite stay true to her vow. The church body in the case commissions teachers as ministers, but does not ordain them. Kreuper pleaded guilty last July. She was so hurt that they could be doing this to her.". The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. 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.. Claiming mental illness at her age is a play for probation or the ability to serve her sentence at home. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet confirm that today the judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles has sentenced our Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, CSJ to one year and one day in federal prison followed by two years' supervised release. 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. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, told The Post his client had accepted the judges one-year prison sentence, even if they were pushing for probation. 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. Get the news that matters most delivered directly to your inbox. The first teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru, claimed her employment contract was not renewed after 16 years service because of illegal age discrimination. 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. It is "telling," in these cases, he says, that the "teachers did not even have to be Catholic to have these jobs.". All rights reserved. A federal judge sentenced Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, a nun and former Catholic school principal, to a year in prison for embezzling more than $835,000 from the school she ran to fund a more secular lifestyle including gambling trips. Advice for the relationships in your life and how to boost your own well-being. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. 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.Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the . The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into the allegations against Kreuper. 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. A retired nun has admitted to embezzling $835,000 over 10 years from a Catholic school in California to fund her gambling habit, according to federal prosecutors. According to Newstalk.com, the school indicated in a letter to parents at the time that they did not want to pursue criminal charges against the duo, after they both expressed "desire and inten[t] to make complete restitution to St. James School.". Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the retired principal of St. James Catholic School in California, has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison on charges of money laundering and federal wire. Earlier in June, the former principal of St. James School was charged with wire fraud and money laundering. 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. You can be proud of that, he said. After much public outcry to pursue legal action, the archdiocese hired a former FBI agent to investigate the two nuns. 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. She admitted to taking a total of $835,000 in donations from the elementary school, and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. They dont want you to see this Big Tech does its best to limit what news you see. 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. Sister Mary is not full of grace. Since 2014, The Marshall Project has been curating some of the best criminal justice reporting from around the web. But how do we define who is a minister and who is not? During the time period this was happening, she had no idea this was happening. It's very disturbing. She really didnt stay true to it at all, actually. 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 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. That was the first clue that unraveled a significant scheme. In doing so, she agreed to plead guilty to: The money laundering charge relates to an episode in 2017, in which Kreuper improperly deposited checks from parents of pupils at the school into a convent bank account, rather than the school's bank account, then later used the convent account to write a $6,000 check to another unnamed person who subsequently cashed the check and gave Kreuper $6,000 in cash "so she could gamble in Nevada.". Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. Mary Margaret Kreuper, a nun who admitted stealing more than $800,000 from St. James Catholic School in Torrance when she was its principal, spent some of the money on trips to Las Vegas and. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. Nun who stole $835K from school to fund gambling habit is going to prison: I have sinned, Carolyn Hax: Boyfriends visits leave single mom with no time for herself, Miss Manners: What to do when a fellow diner was rude to server. 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. Kreuper was principal at the school for 28 years. Though he acknowledges that the teachers taught religion from a workbook about three hours a week, Fisher says these teachers were "primarily lay employees" teaching "secular subjects. The sisters later confessed to using the funds for themselves. 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. They say she also instructed employees at the school to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit, investigators found. It's just that you have to look and see what kind of function are they doing.". Rassbach will tell the Supreme Court that not everyone who works at a religious school or institution is exempt from these laws. For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is tackling a major religion case. Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed into gambling jaunts in Las Vegas. The schools, "have never asserted that either of [the teachers] fell short in any religious duty or adherence to the faith," he says. All rights reserved. 66 is still a fairly competent age. (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . I promised her I would see this through," he says. 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. Make sure you see our stories daily directly to your inbox. But when it came to the vow of poverty, the Southern California nun struggled to maintain her promise to the Catholic Church because of a gambling addiction that was out of control for a decade. She was the principal and had been colluding with longtime teacher Sister Lana Chang on the operation, per the Daily Breeze. 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. One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. As principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, she certainly did but while also embezzling more than $835,000 in funds to support her secretive gambling habit. St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. The Greatest Food Debates Of All Time, Answered Pineapple On Pizza? Kreuper signed the plea agreement, which Snopes has obtained and which can be read in full here, on June 2, 2021. All they needed to do was get through the school year. But. 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 . Associate Editor at BroBible covering all five major sports and every niche sport imaginable, found primarily in the college space. I was wrong, and Im profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering Ive caused so many people., Despite her vow of poverty, nun stole more than $835,000 from a Catholic school, prosecutors said. Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to cover up her crime and asked school employees to alter and destroy financial records during an audit. Now, nearly three years later, she faces up to 40 years in prison and will appear in the Federal District Court in Los Angeles on July 1.