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. "The Gambling Nuns" saga is unlikely to come up at the Supreme Court, but it certainly is on Darryl Biel's mind. 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. Investigators determined the money went to accounts the school didnt know about, Kumar said. The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into the allegations against Kreuper. 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. "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. 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, 80, was sentenced on Monday to 12 months and one day in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II and ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution to the St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California . Other parents remarked it was well-known that Kreuper and Chang traveled often and went gambling, with the two women claiming they were gifted the trips by a rich relative. In June 2021, several local, national, and international news outlets reported that a nun in California had admitted, and was preparing to plead guilty to, embezzling $835,000 from the Catholic school she ran for three decades. Sister Mary is not full of grace. 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. Officials pointed out that Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty as a nun. 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". Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. Although, formally speaking, Kreuper could face a punishment of up to 40 years in prison, it's unlikely she will receive such a long sentence. The school soon had a change of heart following pushback. The account was opened in 1997 but had not been used in years, until Sister Mary Margaret started diverting checks into the forgotten account. An old unused bank account was the giveaway. 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.". She doesn't have any money. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. He had planned to be in Washington for Monday's argument. After much public outcry to pursue legal action, the archdiocese hired a former FBI agent to investigate the two nuns. She just enjoyed gambling, he said. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, admitted stealing the money from St James Catholic School in the L.A. suburb of Torrance, where she was school principal for nearly 30 years. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips, we do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account, Marge Graf, an attorney representing St. James, told a group of parents at a meeting in 2018. 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. But as the archdiocese was completing its audit, it noticed something was off with the funding. She is expected to report to prison by June, Byrne said, and will be released in 2023. 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. In a statement to The Washington Post, Kreupers lawyers said she is very remorseful and sorry for any harm she has caused. Mr Kumar said that jealousy played a part, calling the episode "really an abuse of position of trust". All rights reserved. Ultimately, "they are not people we understand to be spiritual leaders of the church.". 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. 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. 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. 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. var zergnet = document.createElement('script'); 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. James School, before tapping the funds for personal use. 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. All rights reserved. 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. But. Mary Kreuper: Nun who stole $835,000 to fund gambling habit admits 'I have sinned', Sister Mary Kreuper embezzled more than 600,000 from the school where she worked. The auditor found that tuition checks, fees and donations were being deposited into a bank account not used by the school. 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". The money she stole was used to pay off credit card charges and "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos", the US attorney's office said. She is set to be arraigned in court on July 1. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. You can be proud of that, he said. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. In these records you will find the most recent and the most authoritative articles on the topics, people and events that are shaping the . James Convent, not St. Kreuper belongs to the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. But this week, prosecutors said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, had agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than. She became principal at St. James Catholic School, about 20 miles outside downtown Los Angeles, in 1990. 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. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. There is another, and rather rich, twist to one of the cases before the court Monday. She really didnt stay true to it at all, actually. 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. I wanted to see them. 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. 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. Rather, he said, she is religiously trained and a commissioned minister of the church. Her embezzlement activities took place from about 2008-2018. Monday's case, however, does not involve trained and ordained ministers of the faith. The principal allegedly withheld some of the checks and deposited them into the other account, endorsing the back with a stamp that read, St. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were in the clear. "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.". 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.". This article was published more than1 year ago. This was a manifestation of greed, Kumar said, adding that the nun had abused the trust of the community. 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. Kreuper was in charge of the schools credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations. These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, oh no, weve got a rich uncle, one parent told the Press-Telegram. When this was going on, she was not nearly as old. Despite the ongoing thefts, financial statements revealed the church continuing to operate in the black as the two sisters clandestinely plowed through church funds. It's very disturbing. Starting in 2008, Kreuper diverted school funds to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, prosecutors say. The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. By Megan Carpentier. In total, across a period of 10 years, Kreuper siphoned $835,339 from the school's accounts. Advice for the relationships in your life and how to boost your own well-being. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. The sisters later confessed to using the funds for themselves. 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. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Associate Editor at BroBible covering all five major sports and every niche sport imaginable, found primarily in the college space. On. Well, Sister Mary Margaret didnt quite stay true to her vow. 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. Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars. 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. 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. 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. St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. The two holy women were eventually caught out after a recent audit. 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. He argued that while the money she stole might have affected the schools funding, her actions didnt decrease the quality of education students received at St. James. 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. I wanted them to see me," he says "and I just pray that the justices see the right way.". A Los Angeles nun recently pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. This time the question is whether lay teachers at parochial schools are exempt from the nation's fair employment laws. G7 summit - Biden brings 1.2m Cadillac The Beast but will it fit down Cornwalls tiny country lanes. It involves two fifth-grade teachers at Catholic schools in California. Earlier in June, the former principal of St. James School was charged with wire fraud and money laundering. 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. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to cover up her crime and asked school employees to alter and destroy financial records during an audit. The scheme was uncovered during an audit after Kreuper retired in 2018. At the heart of this dispute is the First Amendment ban on government establishment of religion and the separation of church and state. Because the funds were to be restored, the archdiocese decided not to press criminal charges. "Far from it. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. James Convent instead of St. Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal. The nuns order says the woman are cooperating and intend to pay all of the money back in full. 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. 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. She was so hurt that they could be doing this to her.". The first teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru, claimed her employment contract was not renewed after 16 years service because of illegal age discrimination. But, Fisher counters, that "this isn't something you measure with a stopwatch." 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. Her husband said that in her final days, the couple talked extensively about the case. Mary Margaret Kreuper (Image source: KTTV-TV video screenshot). Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper used tuition fees and donations to a California Catholic school to subsidize her casino expenses. Kreuper, he said, quoting an expert, was addicted to gambling, adding that it "is not an excuse for what she did merely an explanation". Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on Tuesday and has agreed to a plea deal, according to a release from the U.S. attorneys office for the Central District of California. She admitted to taking a total of $835,000 in donations from the elementary school, and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. Kreuper admitted embezzling about $835,000 (616,000) in donations, tuition and fee money between 2008 and 2018. ", "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. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, told The Post his client had accepted the judges one-year prison sentence, even if they were pushing for probation. Sister Mary Margaret was caught in 2018. 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. 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. 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. 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. The vow leads a nun to imitate Jesus, who for our sake became poor, although he was rich. Kreuper retired as principal of St. James' Catholic School in 2018, after holding that position for 28 years. 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. James School.. But the court's eventual decision could reach beyond teachers, affecting the lives of millions of other employees who work for religiously affiliated institutions. These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, Oh no, weve got a rich uncle, parent Jack Alexander said. It turns out that at the time Kristen Biel learned she had breast cancer, Kreuper, the school principal who fired her, was embezzling large amounts of money to go on gambling sprees in Las Vegas. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. 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. German cardinal offers to resign over sexual abuse catastrophe, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. 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. Along with her sentence, she was ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. 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. This material may not be reproduced without permission. All they needed to do was get through the school year. Of course, at 79, the likelihood that Sister Mary Margaret will see any jail time is relatively slim. Officials made the discovery in June after performing a routine audit following Kreupers retirement. "I have sinned," Sister Mary told a US . 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. His . For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is tackling a major religion case. })(); 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. St. James teacher Lana Chang admitted along with Kreuper to the embezzlement in 2018, following each of their retirements earlier that year. 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.. Those reports were accurate, and we are issuing a rating of "True.". 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.. The schools, "have never asserted that either of [the teachers] fell short in any religious duty or adherence to the faith," he says. One parent told the outlet of the situation: "It's crazy. 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. 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. Prosecutors had recommended a 24-month prison sentence, three years of . Kreuper became principal at St. James Catholic School in 1990, a position she held for 28 years until her retirement in September 2018. Kristen Biel would return to teaching elsewhere while fighting her case in court, but in June 2019, she died. 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. But Fisher notes that the schools in these cases do not claim any religious reason for firing the teachers. But she appreciates the outpouring of support shes received from people who have decided that rather to judge her on these actions toward the end of her career and life, theyve taken her whole life into consideration.. Thanks for contacting us. For years, St. James parents were told that the school was cash-strapped and unable to upgrade textbooks that were 20 years old, fund field trips or simply install an awning for the outdoor lunch area. 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. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Prosecutors say the nun also ordered school employees to alter and destroy financial records during the audit. An elderly nun who pleaded guilty to embezzling from a Catholic school to fund her own gambling trips has been sentenced to a year in federal prison. Kreuper signed the plea agreement, which Snopes has obtained and which can be read in full here, on June 2, 2021. 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. One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. ", Church says nuns embezzled from SoCal school to cover Vegas gambling tripswww.youtube.com. 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