Buddhist monk gets prison for stealing from temple to gamble
July 26, 2016  03:34
A Buddhist monk was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to embezzling more than USD 260,000 from the Louisiana temple he led and gambling most of the money at a casino.
US District Judge Donald Walter also ordered Khang Nguyen Le, 36, of Lafayette, to pay nearly USD 264,000 in restitution, US Attorney Stephanie Finley's office said in a statement yesterday.
Le pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine.
Le served as presiding monk of the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Southwest Louisiana's Lafayette temple from 2010 through October 2014, when he stepped down amid the investigation. Le's indictment said he lived and worked at the temple and earned a salary of USD 1,000 per month.
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