But Fisher notes that the schools in these cases do not claim any religious reason for firing the teachers. "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 principal allegedly withheld some of the checks and deposited them into the other account, endorsing the back with a stamp that read, St. "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.". 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. 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.. The two announced their retirement at the same time and were on their way out in 2018. BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. Kreuper became principal at St. James Catholic School in 1990, a position she held for 28 years until her retirement in September 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to . Officials pointed out that Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty as a nun. She is looking forward to getting on with life and will get treatment for her gambling addiction, he said. 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". 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 was the principal and had been colluding with longtime teacher Sister Lana Chang on the operation, per the Daily Breeze. 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.. The tuition checks and funds sent to St. James Catholic School between 2008 and 2018 that were stolen by Kreuper equaled the tuition of 14 different students per year, prosecutors said. She would endorse the checks with a stamp saying St. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. All rights reserved. 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. 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. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Meyers reported it to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who hired their own auditor. 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. During the time period this was happening, she had no idea this was happening. 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. 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. The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into the allegations against Kreuper. 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. Her husband said that in her final days, the couple talked extensively about the case. Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. 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. I have sinned, Ive broken the law and I have no excuses, Kreuper said at the sentencing over Zoom. 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. 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 Rev. 2023 Blaze Media LLC. She betrayed the trust of people in the community, the parents, students, the archdiocese and the sisters. His . 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 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 . Kreuper signed the plea agreement, which Snopes has obtained and which can be read in full here, on June 2, 2021. We've received your submission. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. When staff members finally found the check, they realized that it was not deposited in a St. James account, but a different bank account. I wanted them to see me," he says "and I just pray that the justices see the right way.". "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. 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. Thanks for contacting us. (RELATED: Nuns Allegedly Stole Catholic School Funds For Years: Report). 5 Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering Credit: KCAL 9 5 })(); 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. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana, the letter added. For decades, lower courts have recognized an exception to the nation's employment laws for ministers. Prosecutors said that she had also instructed school employees to alter and destroy financial records. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. 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. The second suit was brought by Kristen Biel against St. James School in Torrance. Kreuper as the school's principal, handled all tuition payments, with the sister depositing checks into a separate . 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. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. Well, Sister Mary Margaret didnt quite stay true to her vow. 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. 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. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. Jon Jones Reacts To Islam Makhachev Declaring Himself The Best Fighter In The World, Shavkat Rakhmonov Reacts To ESPN/UFC Commentator Laura Sanko Thirsting Over Him In Viral Video, Jon Jones First Shirtless Pic At Heavyweight Before UFC 285 Goes Viral, Ja Morants Lawyer, Agent Threaten Legal Recourse For Defamatory Report From The Washington Post, Another Glitch In The Matrix Has Occurred As A Bird Is Filmed Motionless In Mid-Air, Bengals Exec Sends Harsh Wake-Up Call To Teams Sniffing Around Tee Higgins. The exception extends to religiously affiliated institutions when they fire employees who serve in a religious capacity akin to that of a minister. Kreuper pleaded guilty last July. At the time, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet imposed restrictions on the two women, writing in a news release that: "The two Sisters are removed from all public ministry. zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? The fraud was discovered after an internal investigation at the end of the same year. She spent the next 59 years of her life dedicated to the church, they said. She's obviously not employable.". Her attorney said Kreuper will be on supervised release for two years once her prison sentence is complete. 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. It's just that you have to look and see what kind of function are they doing.". 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 Kreuper had taken 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 . 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.". 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. "Millions of people across the country who never thought or understood themselves to be leaders of the faith" would now "magically have no employment protections," he says. At least, thats where they caught her. Ultimately, "they are not people we understand to be spiritual leaders of the church.". Michael Meyers, the pastor at St. James Church. Sister Lana Chang, a vice principal who was initially implicated in the scheme, was not charged. Kreuper was principal at the school for 28 years. Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the schools before the court, disagrees. All rights reserved. She was so hurt that they could be doing this to her.". It wasnt until the house of cards came crashing down that she realized what she had done and started to go therapy, where she realized this addiction was a contributing factor. Kreuper also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration in an effort to cover up the embezzlement. "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=47402'; The scheme was uncovered during an audit after Kreuper retired in 2018. The sisters, described as best friends, both retired earlier this year. I wanted to see them. ", Church says nuns embezzled from SoCal school to cover Vegas gambling tripswww.youtube.com. 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". We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. Sister Mary Margaret was caught 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. 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). 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. They dont want you to see this Big Tech does its best to limit what news you see. She, too, retired in 2018. 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. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. But. G7 summit - Biden brings 1.2m Cadillac The Beast but will it fit down Cornwalls tiny country lanes. 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. The now-retired nun (I didnt know nuns could retire) admitted to stealing about $835,000 in donations, tuition and fees. Apparently, the Vegas trips were common knowledge, but the nuns explained that the gambling excursions were gifts from a rich uncle. 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. The Greatest Food Debates Of All Time, Answered Pineapple On Pizza? 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. 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. Chief Justice John Roberts announced the opinion from the bench, noting that the teacher who brought the case was not a lay teacher. This was a manifestation of greed, Kumar said, adding that the nun had abused the trust of the community. 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. (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . 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. 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. Investigators determined the money went to accounts the school didnt know about, Kumar said. 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.". Her embezzlement activities took place from about 2008-2018. 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. 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. 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. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images). Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper A curated collection of links The Record What are records? Kristen Biel would return to teaching elsewhere while fighting her case in court, but in June 2019, she died. var zergnet = document.createElement('script'); The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. But how do we define who is a minister and who is not? But as the archdiocese was completing its audit, it noticed something was off with the funding. 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. 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. If these teachers are exempt, he adds, then millions of employees are automatically exempt from laws enacted by Congress to protect workers, simply because they perform some duty their employer considers religious. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. 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. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. 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. Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. Instead of sitting in the Supreme Court chamber, though, Biel, like the rest of us, will be at home listening. 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. Federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the school administration in an to... Exception extends to religiously affiliated institutions when they fire sister mary margaret kreuper who serve in a religious capacity akin that. Courts have recognized an exception to the school for 28 years until her in. Was initially implicated in the Supreme court chamber, though, Biel, like the rest of,! So hurt that they could be doing this to her. `` curated! Money went to accounts the school administration in an effort to cover Vegas gambling tripswww.youtube.com curated... Her. `` its audit, it noticed something was off with funding! 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