Buddhist Monk Who Stole $260k for Gambling Gets 30 Months Prison

A Buddhist monk who stole over $260,000 from his Louisiana-based temple for gambling purposes was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Khang Nguyen Le pleaded guilty in March to one count of wire fraud and now must pay back the money that he stole. Additionally, the 36-year-old will be deported back to Vietnam once he’s released from prison.

Le presided over the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette for four years, which gave him access to the temple’s bank s. Le abused this privilege from January 2013 to August 2014, using ATMs and casino tellers to illegally obtain money from the bank s.

He traveled to a casino about an hour away, two times a week, and would mostly play blackjack. Unfortunately, Le took big losses that sometimes reached $10,000 in a single session.

The New York Daily News reports that Le traveled to a farther casino because he thought it’d be less likely that anybody would spot him.

“Church would frown upon him even going to the casino if they knew,” read Le’s affidavit.

When he won, Le would return the money to the temple’s bank s. But since he lost far more than he won, over $260,000 had vanished by the time the scandal surfaced.

One $4,280 withdrawal caught the federal government’s attention, which started an investigation into Le’s activities.

He stepped down from his position once suspicion arose in October 2014. But it was already too late since the $260k was gone.

Le got away with the scam for over a year and a half by lying about bank balances during temple meetings. It’s possible that he could have kept stealing from the temple to fund his gambling addiction had the government not spotted the suspicious transaction.

The Advocate reports that Le received a $1,000 monthly stipend for presiding over the Buddhist temple from 2010 to 2014. It’s unclear if he put any of his own salary back into the temple after stealing money and racking up heavy losses.

Regardless, he’ll be spending 30 months in prison and face paying back the entire amount once he’s released from prison.

The maximum penalty for wire fraud is 20 years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines, three years of supervised release, and an order to repay stolen money. Judge Donald E. Walter opted to go with lighter sentencing after a plea deal was reached.