But. He added, Its not meant as an excuse. Mary Margaret Kreuper, a nun who admitted stealing more than $800,000 from St. James Catholic School in Torrance when she was its principal, spent some of the money on trips to Las Vegas and. 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. 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". Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. She became principal at St. James Catholic School, about 20 miles outside downtown Los Angeles, in 1990. "I have sinned," Sister Mary told a US . As headteacher at St James Catholic School, which she ran for 28 years, she "controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one established to pay the living expenses of the nuns employed by the school", prosecutors said. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, months after she admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from St. James Catholic School in Torrance . She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. I don't drink coffee, I wake up jacked. 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. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana, the letter added. However, the church chose not to press charges against the two nuns. Kreuper also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration in an effort to cover up the embezzlement. 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 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. It is "telling," in these cases, he says, that the "teachers did not even have to be Catholic to have these jobs.". She wanted more than she had.. 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. 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". For decades, lower courts have recognized an exception to the nation's employment laws for ministers. Along with her sentence, she was ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. 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 exception extends to religiously affiliated institutions when they fire employees who serve in a religious capacity akin to that of a minister. 66 is still a fairly competent age. St. James teacher Lana Chang admitted along with Kreuper to the embezzlement in 2018, following each of their retirements earlier that year. Well, Sister Mary Margaret didnt quite stay true to her vow. Mary Margaret Kreuper (Image source: KTTV-TV video screenshot). She is looking forward to getting on with life and will get treatment for her gambling addiction, he said. It's just that you have to look and see what kind of function are they doing.". 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. The schools, "have never asserted that either of [the teachers] fell short in any religious duty or adherence to the faith," he says. 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. But as the archdiocese was completing its audit, it noticed something was off with the funding. In these records you will find the most recent and the most authoritative articles on the topics, people and events that are shaping the . Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty as a nun, worked as a principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years and allegedly embezzled the funds for 10 years until her retirement in 2018. Michael Meyers, the pastor at St. James Church. During the time period this was happening, she had no idea this was happening. 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. All rights reserved. Indeed, he observes, they would be exempt not just from anti-discrimination laws, but also laws that protect individuals from retaliation when they report misbehavior to authorities, and laws imposing wage and hour regulations. In the process, Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to the St. James administration to cover up her fraudulent conduct and 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, according to court documents. 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. This material may not be reproduced without permission. 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 as the school's principal, handled all tuition payments, with the sister depositing checks into a separate . Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. 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. 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.". After taking a vow of poverty, her excuse for lavish gambling expenses is hilarious. 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. In December of that year, fraud allegations emerged against her and another nun, Sister Lana Chang, who had taught at the school. A Los Angeles nun recently pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000. 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. zergnet.type = 'text/javascript'; zergnet.async = true; These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, oh no, weve got a rich uncle, one parent told the Press-Telegram. 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. 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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. Police will still present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, NBC reported. 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. Deadly France Christmas market shooting probed as terror a 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting, Family raises 250-pound 'dog' for 2 years then realizes it's a bear, Influencer refuses to switch business class seats so family can sit together, 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards: Lana Del Ray, Kim Petras, & more, RHOA star Drew Sidora accuses ex Ralph Pittman of cheating, mental abuse, Original Gone With The Wind script reveals secret war over slavery, cut scenes, Good luck 'worming' your way out of this one, Sunny Hostin Points Finger at China for COVID Crisis: Did Not Cooperate With the International Community, 'Disgraceful' Meghan, Harry 'provoked' King Charles to evict them: royal expert. "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. When the fraudulent behavior first came to light, the order was deeply disappointed and offered to repay the lost funds only believed to be $500,000 at the time. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. During his sentencing, Wright, a 2007 appointee under President George W. Bush, praised Kreuper for her tenure as one heck of a teacher at the school. Its an explanation.. 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. 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. 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. 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 . Told one parent, We were an ATM, and people know it and they wont ask for justice., The embezzlement and the churchs seeming reluctance to act has led to some locals saying the scandal underscores a failure of church leadership- while also noting that only a police investigation can be trusted.. 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. 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