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. Kreuper, he said, quoting an expert, was addicted to gambling, adding that it "is not an excuse for what she did merely an explanation". 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. Claiming mental illness at her age is a play for probation or the ability to serve her sentence at home. She then used some of the funds to pay for "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.. German cardinal offers to resign over sexual abuse catastrophe, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. His wife, he said, drove into their driveway "in tears bawling hysterically. 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.. She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. 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". News of the indiscretions led to the archdiocese and the church announcing they wouldnt file criminal charges against the nuns after apologizing for their actions. "Far from it. Prosecutors had recommended a 24-month prison sentence, three years of . She, too, retired in 2018. zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, told The Post his client had accepted the judges one-year prison sentence, even if they were pushing for probation. Were those functions to be considered ministerial, Fisher says, the results would be dire. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips, according to the release. 66 is still a fairly competent age. 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. The church body in the case commissions teachers as ministers, but does not ordain them. 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. I wanted to see them. Kreuper admitted embezzling about $835,000 (616,000) in donations, tuition and fee money between 2008 and 2018. 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. The sisters, described as best friends, both retired earlier this year. 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. 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. 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. Prosecutors said that she had also instructed school employees to alter and destroy financial records. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. Well, Sister Mary Margaret didnt quite stay true to her vow. 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. Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. 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. All rights reserved. The now-retired nun (I didnt know nuns could retire) admitted to stealing about $835,000 in donations, tuition and fees. It was only after she vacated her position that school officials unearthed her fraudulent scheme. 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. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 9, for example, Fox News reported that: A retired Los Angeles nun will plead guilty to embezzling $835,000 from the elementary school where she worked in order to cover her gambling habits and other personal expenses, officials said this week. 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. 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. Get the news that matters most delivered directly to your inbox. She would endorse the checks with a stamp saying St. The scheme was uncovered during an audit after Kreuper retired in 2018. Kreuper originally pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering back in 2021. Ultimately, "they are not people we understand to be spiritual leaders of the church.". The schools denied that Morrissey-Berru and Biel were fired for discriminatory reasons. It's just that you have to look and see what kind of function are they doing.". We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. 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. Recap: Court Weighs Whether Religious Schools Can Fire Lay Workers, Listen Live: Supreme Court Arguments Schedule, Top 5 Moments From The Supreme Court's 1st Week Of Livestreaming Arguments, Fervor Vs Compromise At Supreme Court Birth Control Arguments, Supreme Court Arguments A Tech Success, But Format Strangles Usual Give-And-Take, Supreme Court Considers Anti-Prostitution Pledge In HIV/AIDS Funding Case. That was the first clue that unraveled a significant scheme. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. By Megan Carpentier. Is A Hot Dog A Sandwich? However, the church chose not to press charges against the two nuns. After much public outcry to pursue legal action, the archdiocese hired a former FBI agent to investigate the two nuns. She is looking forward to getting on with life and will get treatment for her gambling addiction, he said. 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. Kreuper as the school's principal, handled all tuition payments, with the sister depositing checks into a separate . The Rev. 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. Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to cover up her crime and asked school employees to alter and destroy financial records during an audit. James Convent, not St. Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal. 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". 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. Poonam Kumar, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California who prosecuted the case, told The Washington Post that Kreuper had diverted checks and cash from St. James parents into a long-overlooked church account to pay for large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit-card charges. The actions were done before the money could be accounted for, displaying repetitive and deceptive behavior, over and over again, the prosecutor said. Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes. Chief Justice John Roberts announced the opinion from the bench, noting that the teacher who brought the case was not a lay teacher. Investigators determined the money went to accounts the school didnt know about, Kumar 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.. 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 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 . Maybe if she had used her poker face to see more success in Vegas, she wouldnt have been in this position to begin with. 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. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. 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. Kreuper stole the funds over the course of ten years, ending in 2018. Sister Mary Margaret was caught in 2018. James School.. 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 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. In December of that year, fraud allegations emerged against her and another nun, Sister Lana Chang, who had taught at the school. "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=47402'; Associate Editor at BroBible covering all five major sports and every niche sport imaginable, found primarily in the college space. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. "She doesn't have anywhere to go," he said. (deployads = window.deployads || []).push({}); (function() { One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. 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. 2023 Blaze Media LLC. 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