"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. Kreuper also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration in an effort to cover up the embezzlement. The Daily Caller | 1775 Eye Street NW | Suite 1150-290 | Washington, DC 20006. A Los Angeles nun recently pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $800,000. Were those functions to be considered ministerial, Fisher says, the results would be dire. She would endorse the checks with a stamp saying St. Make sure you see our stories daily directly to your inbox. When staff members finally found the check, they realized that it was not deposited in a St. James account, but a different bank account. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images). Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper A curated collection of links The Record What are records? 2023 Blaze Media LLC. 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. By that math, Sister Mary Margaret was only 66 when the behavior began. She betrayed the trust of people in the community, the parents, students, the archdiocese and the sisters. I don't drink coffee, I wake up jacked. (deployads = window.deployads || []).push({}); (function() { The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. Kreuper was 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, her lawyers told the Post. 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. She was so hurt that they could be doing this to her.". He had planned to be in Washington for Monday's argument. His wife, he said, drove into their driveway "in tears bawling hysterically. 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. 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. 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. The vow leads a nun to imitate Jesus, who for our sake became poor, although he was rich. All rights reserved. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. On Monday night, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents and alumni at a meeting that Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, described as best friends, took around $500,000 from St . 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. Is A Hot Dog A Sandwich? Maryland man, 52, sues bar over ban cause he was old Missouri daughter secretly donates kidney to ailing dad. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering for ripping off St. James Catholic School for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, according to . Kreuper was in charge of the schools credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations. 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. The first teacher, Agnes Morrissey-Berru, claimed her employment contract was not renewed after 16 years service because of illegal age discrimination. But as the archdiocese was completing its audit, it noticed something was off with the funding. 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. A spokesperson with St. James did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. Despite the ongoing thefts, financial statements revealed the church continuing to operate in the black as the two sisters clandestinely plowed through church funds. Though he acknowledges that the teachers taught religion from a workbook about three hours a week, Fisher says these teachers were "primarily lay employees" teaching "secular subjects. 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. Kreuper stole the funds over the course of ten years, ending in 2018. 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. Prosecutors said that she had also instructed school employees to alter and destroy financial records. Kreuper, he said, quoting an expert, was addicted to gambling, adding that it "is not an excuse for what she did merely an explanation". Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed into gambling jaunts in Las Vegas. The now-retired nun (I didnt know nuns could retire) admitted to stealing about $835,000 in donations, tuition and fees. 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. Of course, at 79, the likelihood that Sister Mary Margaret will see any jail time is relatively slim. Ultimately, he argues, the schools consider the teachers to be performing an important religious function, and therefore, they can be fired for any reason because they are not subject to the nation's fair employment laws. Instead of sitting in the Supreme Court chamber, though, Biel, like the rest of us, will be at home listening. 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. Kreuper did not recognize she had a gambling problem until she was accused of embezzling more than $835,000 from the school, Byrne said. 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.. ", Church says nuns embezzled from SoCal school to cover Vegas gambling tripswww.youtube.com. 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. "You don't want the government deciding who teaches religion we don't do that in this country that's why we have an establishment clause," says Rassbach. 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.. The schools, "have never asserted that either of [the teachers] fell short in any religious duty or adherence to the faith," he says. Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. "The Gambling Nuns" saga is unlikely to come up at the Supreme Court, but it certainly is on Darryl Biel's mind. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. The scheme was uncovered during an audit after Kreuper retired in 2018. The fraud was discovered after an internal investigation at the end of the same year. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. Kreuper was principal at the school for 28 years. A retired nun has admitted to embezzling $835,000 over 10 years from a Catholic school in California to fund her gambling habit, according to federal prosecutors. 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. 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Claiming mental illness at her age is a play for probation or the ability to serve her sentence at home. Advice for the relationships in your life and how to boost your own well-being. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. For years, St. James parents were told that the school was cash-strapped and unable to upgrade textbooks that were 20 years old, fund field trips or simply install an awning for the outdoor lunch area. The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into the allegations against Kreuper. (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . 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. According to prosecutors, Kreuper had stolen whats estimated to have been the tuition for 14 students at the K-8 school in funds that were intended to further the students education, not fund [Kreupers] lifestyle., When confronted, the defendant admitted to stealing the money, Kumar said. Associate Editor at BroBible covering all five major sports and every niche sport imaginable, found primarily in the college space. (RELATED: Nuns Allegedly Stole Catholic School Funds For Years: Report). He added, Its not meant as an excuse. But. 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. 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 Privacy Policy. Rassbach will tell the Supreme Court that not everyone who works at a religious school or institution is exempt from these laws. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. She then used some of the funds to pay for "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.. But the court's eventual decision could reach beyond teachers, affecting the lives of millions of other employees who work for religiously affiliated institutions. On. A spokesperson for the order confirmed for Snopes that, as of June 9, 2021, Kreuper was still a member of the Los Angeles congregation, but the restrictions against her remained in place, and she was no longer involved in any public ministry. 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. The Torrancepair used the money for vacations and gambling at the casino while telling parents that the school was on a tight budget. All they needed to do was get through the school year. Asking for the nun to be spared from prison, her lawyer Mark Byrne told the court she has been kept under "severe restrictions" at a convent by the nuns in her order. It involves two fifth-grade teachers at Catholic schools in California. 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. At the heart of this dispute is the First Amendment ban on government establishment of religion and the separation of church and state. One parent told the outlet of the situation: "It's crazy. 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.. St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. Image Via Scott Varley/Digital First Media/ Torrance Daily Breeze via Getty Images. By Megan Carpentier. She's obviously not employable.". 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. Directly to your inbox nun to imitate Jesus, who for our sake poor... 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