Buddhist monk accused of stealing $150,000 To Play Blackjack

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Buddha was always an open-minded and compassionate person, but he may not approve of what a Buddhist monk did in order to play blackjack. A monk from Louisiana was arrested at LaGuardia Airport and was charged with looting his own temple. After evaluating what he had stolen, it came out to roughly $150,000, and it was all so that he could go and have a weekend of fun at the casinos.

The perpetrator, Khang Le, the top monk at the Vietnamese Buddhist Association of Lafayette, Louisiana, appeared in full religious outfit to his hearing in a Brooklyn federal court. Things do not look good for the monk, as he will more than likely get sent back to his home state to face the charges. It seems that his gambling addiction started in 2011, where he started to secretly visit the L’Auberge Casino in Lake Charles. These frequent visits came with a high cost, which his $1,000 per month salary could not cover.

“Le stated he started to gamble in 2011 or 2012 and would spend between $5,000 and $10,000 every two or three days at the casino playing blackjack,” court papers reveal of an interview with Le conducted by a federal agent in 2014. “Le admitted to having a gambling problem and admitted that he was utilizing Temple funds to gamble.”

According to Le, when he did win at the tables he would return some of the money to the Temple’s bank account. Records show that from December 2012 to the present day, he had withdrawn $374,789 from both personal and temple accounts. The worst part is that he would withdraw the money from the ATM’s at the casino. He was finally arrested after a year-long investigation turned up this evidence and the warrant was issued. We will have to wait and see what happens to this blackjack loving Buddhist monk, and remember, everything in moderation.