His findings unraveled the entire scheme and, eventually, federal charges were levied against Sister Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. It involves two fifth-grade teachers at Catholic schools in California. 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.. One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. According to Newstalk.com, the school indicated in a letter to parents at the time that they did not want to pursue criminal charges against the duo, after they both expressed "desire and inten[t] to make complete restitution to St. James School.". At least I hope you do.. The two announced their retirement at the same time and were on their way out in 2018. 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. She then used some of the funds to pay for "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.. 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). 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. All rights reserved. But, Fisher counters, that "this isn't something you measure with a stopwatch." 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper used tuition fees and donations to a California Catholic school to subsidize her casino expenses. 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". In these records you will find the most recent and the most authoritative articles on the topics, people and events that are shaping the . At the heart of this dispute is the First Amendment ban on government establishment of religion and the separation of church and state. Despite the ongoing thefts, financial statements revealed the church continuing to operate in the black as the two sisters clandestinely plowed through church funds. Sister Mary Margaret was caught in 2018. 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 We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. She would endorse the checks with a stamp saying St. Julija Garunkstis, a St. James mother who attended the school between 2005 and 2014, said Kreuper had shaken her faith. Starting in 2008, Kreuper diverted school funds to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, prosecutors say. Michael Meyers, the pastor at St. James Church. The vow leads a nun to imitate Jesus, who for our sake became poor, although he was rich. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. The auditor found that tuition checks, fees and donations were being deposited into a bank account not used by the school. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to . BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. 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. When staff members finally found the check, they realized that it was not deposited in a St. James account, but a different bank account. Kreuper was in charge of the schools credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations. The scheme was uncovered during an audit after Kreuper retired in 2018. Sister Lana Chang, a vice principal who was initially implicated in the scheme, was not charged. 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. I have sinned, I have broken the law and I have no excuses, Kreuper told the judge during her hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana, the letter added. At least, thats where they caught her. 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. 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.. There is another, and rather rich, twist to one of the cases before the court Monday. Along with her sentence, she was ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. (deployads = window.deployads || []).push({}); (function() { A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. 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. Kreuper also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration in an effort to cover up the embezzlement. She betrayed the trust of people in the community, the parents, students, the archdiocese and the sisters. They say she also instructed employees at the school to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit, investigators found. Apparently, the Vegas trips were common knowledge, but the nuns explained that the gambling excursions were gifts from a rich uncle. Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal. A Los Angeles nun recently pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000. 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. Pic: St James Catholic School. 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. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. On. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. She doesn't have any money. 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. 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. Around the same time, a St. James parent asked question at a school meeting about an old tuition check that had an endorsement on the back of check that did not line up with the schools primary account, the prosecutor said. 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. 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. 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. Because the funds were to be restored, the archdiocese decided not to press criminal charges. 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. })(); 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. Kreuper did not recognize she had a gambling problem until she was accused of embezzling more than $835,000 from the school, Byrne said. Jaclyn Peiser contributed to this report. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. 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.". Her attorney said Kreuper will be on supervised release for two years once her prison sentence is complete. 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. Of course, at 79, the likelihood that Sister Mary Margaret will see any jail time is relatively slim. She faces up to 40 years in federal prison, but is claiming mental illness. She is expected to report to prison by June, Byrne said, and will be released in 2023. Kreuper is due in court on 1 July and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. She just enjoyed gambling, he said. 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. 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.