German cardinal offers to resign over sexual abuse catastrophe, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. She is expected to report to prison by June, Byrne said, and will be released in 2023. 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. Similar articles were published by the Los Angeles Times, KTLA, and Unilad.co.uk. 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. She then used some of the funds to pay for "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.. 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 defrauding St. James Catholic School over a period of 10 years. 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. Kreuper signed the plea agreement, which Snopes has obtained and which can be read in full here, on June 2, 2021. Since 2014, The Marshall Project has been curating some of the best criminal justice reporting from around the web. 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. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. 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. Police will still present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, NBC reported. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. 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. 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. Bank records show Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had been embezzling funds from St. James Catholic School in Torrance for at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported. Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal. 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. All they needed to do was get through the school year. Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes. 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 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. BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and in a plea agreement pleaded guilty to both charges, the Associated Press reported. 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. Make sure you see our stories daily directly to your inbox. On. One parent told the outlet of the situation: "It's crazy. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were in the clear. She is set to be arraigned in court on July 1. You can be proud of that, he said. "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 pair said in a joint statement. (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . The 79-year-old former nun pleaded guilty to federal charges for stealing more than $800,000 from St. James Catholic School earlier this month. 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.". 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. 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. Rassbach will tell the Supreme Court that not everyone who works at a religious school or institution is exempt from these laws. The principal allegedly withheld some of the checks and deposited them into the other account, endorsing the back with a stamp that read, St. At least I hope you do.. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images). After much public outcry to pursue legal action, the archdiocese hired a former FBI agent to investigate the two nuns. A Los Angeles nun recently pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000. At the sentencing hearing, those who spoke were split on their feelings toward the nun and what she had done. He said he could not bring himself to judge Kreuper solely on "the worst thing that she's done in her life", the LA Times said. The scheme was uncovered during an audit after Kreuper retired in 2018. Kreuper stole the funds over the course of ten years, ending in 2018. 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. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. The now-retired nun (I didnt know nuns could retire) admitted to stealing about $835,000 in donations, tuition and fees. 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. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. 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. ", "Just as teaching science out of a fifth-grade textbook doesn't make them scientists, teaching religion for 40 minutes a day out of a workbook doesn't make them ministers," he says. 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. 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. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". 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. 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. "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. 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. But they asserted that the courts should dismiss the cases because the teachers were essentially ministers, and thus were not protected under the federal employment laws. Kreuper became principal at St. James Catholic School in 1990, a position she held for 28 years until her retirement in September 2018. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. 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. According to the outlet, "Kreuper acknowledged diverting money to pay for personal expenses that included credit card charges and 'large gambling expenses incurred at casinos,' the U.S. attorney's office said.". The archdiocese of Los Angeles said in statement that the community of faith at St James was shocked and saddened by these actions and expressed gratitude to local and federal law enforcement agencies for their work in the investigation of this matter. Investigators described a system in which Kreuper handled all checks made out to the school for tuition and fees before handing them over to bookkeeping staff for processing. She betrayed the trust of people in the community, the parents, students, the archdiocese and the sisters. 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. I have sinned, Ive broken the law and I have no excuses, Kreuper said at the sentencing over Zoom. Get the news that matters most delivered directly to your inbox. 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. This was a manifestation of greed, Kumar said, adding that the nun had abused the trust of the community. By Megan Carpentier. 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. 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 . The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into the allegations against Kreuper. 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. Prosecutors say the nun also ordered school employees to alter and destroy financial records during the audit. James Convent, not St. The 80-year-old nun pleaded for mercy after stealing $835,339 from an elementary Catholic school to fund her gambling addiction.. The school soon had a change of heart following pushback. 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. Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars. zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. 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 . Image Via Scott Varley/Digital First Media/ Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images. She also controlled two savings accounts, one for the school and one for the nuns living expenses. Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. "She doesn't have anywhere to go," he said. 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. Each time, Kreuper had the same response to the community, according to the Times: How do you expect to pay for it? 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