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. 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. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to . Get the news that matters most delivered directly to your inbox. That was the first clue that unraveled a significant scheme. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. (RNS) Recently Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, a Catholic nun who stole $835,000 from a Catholic elementary school in Torrance, California, was sent to prison for a year and ordered to pay the . Officials made the discovery in June after performing a routine audit following Kreupers retirement. Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. A spokesperson with St. James did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Shes very, very remorseful and very ashamed, he said. The Torrancepair used the money for vacations and gambling at the casino while telling parents that the school was on a tight budget. "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. For decades, lower courts have recognized an exception to the nation's employment laws for ministers. 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". An old unused bank account was the giveaway. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. They dont want you to see this Big Tech does its best to limit what news you see. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. "She doesn't have anywhere to go," he said. 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. 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". The 80-year-old nun pleaded for mercy after stealing $835,339 from an elementary Catholic school to fund her gambling addiction.. The DOJ noted that Kreuper had diverted the school funds to pay for expenses that the order [of nuns] would not have approved. Among the expenses Kreuper accrued were those from casinos and credit card charges. 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 Daily Caller | 1775 Eye Street NW | Suite 1150-290 | Washington, DC 20006. 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. She wanted more than she had.. She was so hurt that they could be doing this to her.". At the heart of this dispute is the First Amendment ban on government establishment of religion and the separation of church and state. G7 summit - Biden brings 1.2m Cadillac The Beast but will it fit down Cornwalls tiny country lanes. Mary Margaret Kreuper (Image source: KTTV-TV video screenshot). However, the church chose not to press charges against the two nuns. Ultimately, "they are not people we understand to be spiritual leaders of the church.". Mr Kumar said that jealousy played a part, calling the episode "really an abuse of position of trust". Because the funds were to be restored, the archdiocese decided not to press criminal charges. Sister Mary Margaret was caught in 2018. She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to cover up her crime and asked school employees to alter and destroy financial records during an audit. St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. 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". 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. The pair confessed to using the funds for gambling excursions to Las Vegas and other spending sprees. Monday's case, however, does not involve trained and ordained ministers of the faith. Its an explanation.. Since 2014, The Marshall Project has been curating some of the best criminal justice reporting from around the web. var zergnet = document.createElement('script'); A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, told The Post his client had accepted the judges one-year prison sentence, even if they were pushing for probation. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana, the letter added. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. Claiming mental illness at her age is a play for probation or the ability to serve her sentence at home. Officials pointed out that Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty as a nun. 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. 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 . Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering after she admitted to investigators that she embezzled hundreds of thousands of. The purpose is to protect leaders of the faith, and their religions, from interference by the government. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . 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 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. Julija Garunkstis, a St. James mother who attended the school between 2005 and 2014, said Kreuper had shaken her faith. 2023 Blaze Media LLC. The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into the allegations against Kreuper. Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the schools before the court, disagrees. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. She is set to be arraigned in court on July 1. His findings unraveled the entire scheme and, eventually, federal charges were levied against Sister Mary Margaret. 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. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. Make sure you see our stories daily directly to your inbox. 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.. At least, thats where they caught her. Jaclyn Peiser contributed to this report. She was also entrusted with overseeing the St. James Covenant Account, a savings account that funded the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school, the indictment against her states. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. She doesn't have any money. His . 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 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. 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. 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. 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. He added, Its not meant as an excuse. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. When this was going on, she was not nearly as old. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. 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. "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. 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. 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. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images). Kristen Biel would return to teaching elsewhere while fighting her case in court, but in June 2019, she died. Kreuper also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration in an effort to cover up the embezzlement. 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. All rights reserved. Her embezzlement activities took place from about 2008-2018. All they needed to do was get through the school year. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were in the clear. The nuns order says the woman are cooperating and intend to pay all of the money back in full. Church officials said they did not wish to press charges against the sisters, who both expressed remorse. 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. She is looking forward to getting on with life and will get treatment for her gambling addiction, he said. By Megan Carpentier. Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes. 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. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. Thanks for contacting us. It is "telling," in these cases, he says, that the "teachers did not even have to be Catholic to have these jobs.". He had planned to be in Washington for Monday's argument. As principal of St. James Catholic School, she oversaw the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees as well as charitable donations. German cardinal offers to resign over sexual abuse catastrophe, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. James School.. 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. For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is tackling a major religion case. 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. 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. When staff members finally found the check, they realized that it was not deposited in a St. James account, but a different bank account. znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr); Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars. She is expected to report to prison by June, Byrne said, and will be released in 2023. Kreuper originally pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering back in 2021. One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Getty Images ) by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images ) 15 Episodes Seinfeld. 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