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. She doesn't have any money. They dont want you to see this Big Tech does its best to limit what news you see. But, Fisher counters, that "this isn't something you measure with a stopwatch." ", Church says nuns embezzled from SoCal school to cover Vegas gambling tripswww.youtube.com. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. 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. St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. James School.. By Megan Carpentier. Advice for the relationships in your life and how to boost your own well-being. Sister Mary is not full of grace. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. But this week, prosecutors said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, had agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than. "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. 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. 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. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kumar said the nuns instruction to the auditors sparked suspicion, and they reported the incident to Msgr. 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. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. 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. The schools, "have never asserted that either of [the teachers] fell short in any religious duty or adherence to the faith," he says. Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed into gambling jaunts in Las Vegas. 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. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. 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. In December of that year, fraud allegations emerged against her and another nun, Sister Lana Chang, who had taught at the school. 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 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.". It was only after she vacated her position that school officials unearthed her fraudulent scheme. He said he could not bring himself to judge Kreuper solely on "the worst thing that she's done in her life", the LA Times said. This was a manifestation of greed, Kumar said, adding that the nun had abused the trust of the community. 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. 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. Make sure you see our stories daily directly to your inbox. Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal. The principal allegedly withheld some of the checks and deposited them into the other account, endorsing the back with a stamp that read, St. 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. They say she also instructed employees at the school to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit, investigators found. The auditor found that tuition checks, fees and donations were being deposited into a bank account not used by the school. But. (deployads = window.deployads || []).push({}); (function() { Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. 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. 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.. 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. Instead of sitting in the Supreme Court chamber, though, Biel, like the rest of us, will be at home listening. It's very disturbing. Were those functions to be considered ministerial, Fisher says, the results would be dire. Kreuper pleaded guilty last July. 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 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. 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.. His findings unraveled the entire scheme and, eventually, federal charges were levied against Sister Mary Margaret. 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. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is tackling a major religion case. After much public outcry to pursue legal action, the archdiocese hired a former FBI agent to investigate the two nuns. 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 used tuition fees and donations to a California Catholic school to subsidize her casino expenses. })(); 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. Her embezzlement activities took place from about 2008-2018. Along with her sentence, she was ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. He had planned to be in Washington for Monday's argument. Kreuper was in charge of the schools credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations. 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. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. 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. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She became principal at St. James Catholic School, about 20 miles outside downtown Los Angeles, in 1990. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. She admitted to taking a total of $835,000 in donations from the elementary school, and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. Cyclist falls to her death after drawbridge opens while shes on it, Trump tells Joe Rogan to stop apologizing for Spotify controversies, Frozen out of GoFundMe, Canadian protest convoy raises millions on Christian sit. The two announced their retirement at the same time and were on their way out in 2018. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. 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. 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. Well, Sister Mary Margaret didnt quite stay true to her vow. The Daily Caller | 1775 Eye Street NW | Suite 1150-290 | Washington, DC 20006. 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. On. She wanted more than she had.. 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 . By that math, Sister Mary Margaret was only 66 when the behavior began. Sister Mary Margaret was caught in 2018. The account was opened in 1997 but had not been used in years, until Sister Mary Margaret started diverting checks into the forgotten account. 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. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. 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. I wanted them to see me," he says "and I just pray that the justices see the right way.". 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. "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=47402'; Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the schools before the court, disagrees. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. 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. zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? 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. I wanted to see them. 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". Maybe if she had used her poker face to see more success in Vegas, she wouldnt have been in this position to begin with. In June 2021, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted to embezzling $835,000 from the Catholic school where she served as principal for 28 years. In a statement to The Washington Post, Kreupers lawyers said she is very remorseful and sorry for any harm she has caused. 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. Mr Kumar said that jealousy played a part, calling the episode "really an abuse of position of trust". The purpose is to protect leaders of the faith, and their religions, from interference by the government. zergnet.type = 'text/javascript'; zergnet.async = true; For decades, lower courts have recognized an exception to the nation's employment laws for ministers. 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. (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . 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 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. 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". The first teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru, claimed her employment contract was not renewed after 16 years service because of illegal age discrimination. Federal wire fraud and money laundering charges I have sinned '' Lana were both of... 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