Kreuper became principal at St. James Catholic School in 1990, a position she held for 28 years until her retirement in September 2018. "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. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. Claiming mental illness at her age is a play for probation or the ability to serve her sentence at home. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. 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. In December of that year, fraud allegations emerged against her and another nun, Sister Lana Chang, who had taught at the school. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. Eric Rassbach of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who is representing the schools before the court, disagrees. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper A curated collection of links The Record What are records? 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. 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. Meyers reported it to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who hired their own auditor. All rights reserved. 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. 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. var znscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; Kobe Bryant's widow awarded nearly $29m after police shared photos of helicopter crash, Doctors recommend end-of-life decision for Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore, Ramon Escobar: Serial murderer suspected of killing prison inmate. 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. One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. Kreuper was in charge of the schools credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations. Kristen Biel would return to teaching elsewhere while fighting her case in court, but in June 2019, she died. In a statement to The Washington Post, Kreupers lawyers said she is very remorseful and sorry for any harm she has caused. 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. One parent told the outlet of the situation: "It's crazy. In total, across a period of 10 years, Kreuper siphoned $835,339 from the school's accounts. She doesn't have any money. })(); 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. Many parents were outraged with the initial decision not to press charges, with some remarking that if the nuns were lay people, they would certainly be in jail according to the presstelegram. Kreuper stole the funds over the course of ten years, ending in 2018. 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. 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. 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 . The schools, "have never asserted that either of [the teachers] fell short in any religious duty or adherence to the faith," he says. When first confronted, Mr Kumar said, the nun claimed she "did it in part because she believes priests get paid better than nuns". 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. 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.". 2022 Blaze Media LLC. On. 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. These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, oh no, weve got a rich uncle, one parent told the Press-Telegram. Kreuper signed the plea agreement, which Snopes has obtained and which can be read in full here, on June 2, 2021. When she announced she was retiring in September 2018, the archdiocese conducted a financial review for the incoming principal. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. 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. Margaret Mary Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were accused of embezzling tuition, fees, and donations made in favor of St. James Catholic School to fund their gambling trips (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) Kreuper is also accused of directing St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. (RNS) Recently Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, a Catholic nun who stole $835,000 from a Catholic elementary school in Torrance, California, was sent to prison for a year and ordered to pay the . US District Court Judge Otis Wright acknowledged his own anguish in deciding a punishment to fit the crime, saying "I haven't slept well in God knows how long" as he rejected prosecutors' call for a two-year sentence. The exception extends to religiously affiliated institutions when they fire employees who serve in a religious capacity akin to that of a minister. Instead of sitting in the Supreme Court chamber, though, Biel, like the rest of us, will be at home listening. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation into the allegations against Kreuper. Each of the counts carries a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars. 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.". James Convent instead of St. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. The sisters, described as best friends, both retired earlier this year. 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. Police will still present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, NBC reported. You can be proud of that, he said. 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The 80-year-old nun pleaded for mercy after stealing $835,339 from an elementary Catholic school to fund her gambling addiction.. 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. However, the church chose not to press charges against the two nuns. 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. Each time, Kreuper had the same response to the community, according to the Times: How do you expect to pay for it? All the while, Kreuper spoke openly about her gambling trips, saying her vice principals wealthy relatives funded the casino excursions to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, prosecutors say. 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. James School, before tapping the funds for personal use. The DOJ noted that Kreuper had diverted the school funds to pay for expenses that the order [of nuns] would not have approved. Among the expenses Kreuper accrued were those from casinos and credit card charges. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. 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