She is expected to report to prison by June, Byrne said, and will be released in 2023. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. 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. Sister Mary Margaret was making bank (very illegally) through laundering and threw everyone off of the scent by reminding them of her vow of poverty. Officials made the discovery in June after performing a routine audit following Kreupers retirement. Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. James School, before tapping the funds for personal use. The school soon had a change of heart following pushback. 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. It's just that you have to look and see what kind of function are they doing.". She wanted more than she had.. For decades, lower courts have recognized an exception to the nation's employment laws for ministers. She, too, retired in 2018. Michael Meyers, the pastor at St. James Church. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. For the second time in as many weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court is tackling a major religion case. That was the first clue that unraveled a significant scheme. 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. 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 . She really didnt stay true to it at all, actually. She spent the next 59 years of her life dedicated to the church, they said. zergnet.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? The exception extends to religiously affiliated institutions when they fire employees who serve in a religious capacity akin to that of a minister. The two announced their retirement at the same time and were on their way out in 2018. Despite the ongoing thefts, financial statements revealed the church continuing to operate in the black as the two sisters clandestinely plowed through church funds. Her embezzlement activities took place from about 2008-2018. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. As outlined in her plea agreement, beginning in 2008, Kreuper began depositing tuition checks and donations into the school's account and then diverted the money into the covenant account. 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. 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. Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the schools before the court, disagrees. By that math, Sister Mary Margaret was only 66 when the behavior began. The schools denied that Morrissey-Berru and Biel were fired for discriminatory reasons. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. When first confronted, Mr Kumar said, the nun claimed she "did it in part because she believes priests get paid better than nuns". James Convent, not St. 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. His wife, he said, drove into their driveway "in tears bawling hysterically. His . They added that "later in her life, she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done.. She also controlled two savings accounts, one for the school and one for the nuns living expenses. 2022 Blaze Media LLC. Kreuper is due in court on 1 July and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. 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. Kreuper originally pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering back in 2021. She claimed that the salary differential between nuns and priests meant she was owed this money, which is inconsistent with the vow of poverty she took.. 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. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. 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. She became principal at St. James Catholic School, about 20 miles outside downtown Los Angeles, in 1990. Is A Hot Dog A Sandwich? })(); 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. 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.". 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, 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. "Requiring a church to accept or retain an unwanted minister or punishing a church for failing to do so intrudes upon more than a mere employment decision," Roberts said. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. 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. She is set to be arraigned in court on July 1. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper A curated collection of links The Record What are records? 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. She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. 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.. Jon Jones Reacts To Islam Makhachev Declaring Himself The Best Fighter In The World, Shavkat Rakhmonov Reacts To ESPN/UFC Commentator Laura Sanko Thirsting Over Him In Viral Video, Jon Jones First Shirtless Pic At Heavyweight Before UFC 285 Goes Viral, Ja Morants Lawyer, Agent Threaten Legal Recourse For Defamatory Report From The Washington Post, Another Glitch In The Matrix Has Occurred As A Bird Is Filmed Motionless In Mid-Air, Bengals Exec Sends Harsh Wake-Up Call To Teams Sniffing Around Tee Higgins. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. Prosecutors had recommended a 24-month prison sentence, three years of . A spokesperson with St. James did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on Tuesday and has agreed to a plea deal, according to a release from the U.S. attorneys office for the Central District of California. "Far from it. 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. They have been removed from their residence, placed in a religious house under the supervision of community leadership, and their freedom of movement is confined.". Similar articles were published by the Los Angeles Times, KTLA, and Unilad.co.uk. 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. This article was published more than1 year ago. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers, Meyers wrote in a letter to parents on Nov. 28. She just enjoyed gambling, he said. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, told The Post his client had accepted the judges one-year prison sentence, even if they were pushing for probation. 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). "The Gambling Nuns" saga is unlikely to come up at the Supreme Court, but it certainly is on Darryl Biel's mind. 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. Court documents show that she also oversaw the St. James Convent Account, a savings account that funded the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school. 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