sister mary margaret kreuper
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. 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. (deployads = window.deployads || []).push({}); (function() { When this was going on, she was not nearly as old. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. 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 . After much public outcry to pursue legal action, the archdiocese hired a former FBI agent to investigate the two nuns. var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; Despite the ongoing thefts, financial statements revealed the church continuing to operate in the black as the two sisters clandestinely plowed through church funds. 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. 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 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. I was wrong, and Im profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering Ive caused so many people., Despite her vow of poverty, nun stole more than $835,000 from a Catholic school, prosecutors said. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced on Monday to 12 months and one day in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II and ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution to the St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California . 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. They and their Order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school. Julija Garunkstis, a St. James mother who attended the school between 2005 and 2014, said Kreuper had shaken her faith. 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. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, told The Post his client had accepted the judges one-year prison sentence, even if they were pushing for probation. 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.. We've received your submission. She spent the next 59 years of her life dedicated to the church, they said. 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. But Fisher notes that the schools in these cases do not claim any religious reason for firing the teachers. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper used tuition fees and donations to a California Catholic school to subsidize her casino expenses. Kreuper signed the plea agreement, which Snopes has obtained and which can be read in full here, on June 2, 2021. Associate Editor at BroBible covering all five major sports and every niche sport imaginable, found primarily in the college space. These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, Oh no, weve got a rich uncle, parent Jack Alexander said. Kreuper pleaded guilty last July. When first confronted, Mr Kumar said, the nun claimed she "did it in part because she believes priests get paid better than nuns". 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. She admitted to taking a total of $835,000 in donations from the elementary school, and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. According to prosecutors, Kreuper admitted that she falsified monthly and annual reports to the school 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.. 66 is still a fairly competent age. He had planned to be in Washington for Monday's argument. 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. 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. LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Mary Margaret Kreuper, a now-retired nun who was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud and money laundering charges. She then used some of the funds to pay for "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.. The second suit was brought by Kristen Biel against St. James School in Torrance. 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. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana, the letter added. zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. They dont want you to see this Big Tech does its best to limit what news you see. "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. In December of that year, fraud allegations emerged against her and another nun, Sister Lana Chang, who had taught at the school. 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. This large chunk of stolen money came as the St. James Catholic School was operating under tight budgets with small concerns that the finances could not continue to keep the door open. 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. One parent told the outlet of the situation: "It's crazy. 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. var zergnet = document.createElement('script'); Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. 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 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. 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. However, the church chose not to press charges against the two nuns. 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. It's very disturbing. Other parents remarked it was well-known that Kreuper and Chang traveled often and went gambling, with the two women claiming they were gifted the trips by a rich relative. 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. Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed into gambling jaunts in Las Vegas. The sisters, described as best friends, both retired earlier this year. 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. 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. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal. 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 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. 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.. 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. After taking a vow of poverty, her excuse for lavish gambling expenses is hilarious. 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. Kreuper is due in court on 1 July and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. G7 summit - Biden brings 1.2m Cadillac The Beast but will it fit down Cornwalls tiny country lanes. By that math, Sister Mary Margaret was only 66 when the behavior began. The Rev. It is "telling," in these cases, he says, that the "teachers did not even have to be Catholic to have these jobs.". Kreuper, who took vows of poverty at age 18 and spent 59 years in the religious order, said in her plea agreement that she had begun diverting money from the schools tuition and donation account to a savings account that funded the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school and then used some of the money herself. 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 sisters later confessed to using the funds for themselves. 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. 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. Prosecutors say the nun also ordered school employees to alter and destroy financial records during the audit. Ultimately, "they are not people we understand to be spiritual leaders of the church.". She was so hurt that they could be doing this to her.". 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. In 2012, the Supreme Court sought to answer that question, agreeing unanimously that a fourth-grade teacher who was commissioned as a minister could not sue over her firing by a Lutheran school. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. The two announced their retirement at the same time and were on their way out in 2018. She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. The vow leads a nun to imitate Jesus, who for our sake became poor, although he was rich. Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars. Kreuper belongs to the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Kreuper admitted embezzling about $835,000 (616,000) in donations, tuition and fee money between 2008 and 2018. Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty is due court. She then used some of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars years of her dedicated. `` it 's crazy allegedly embezzling up to $ 500K which was parlayed into gambling jaunts Las. 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