Former Bismarck diocese priest facing prison…

NORTH DAKOTA
Bismark Tribune

Former Bismarck diocese priest facing prison time for stealing money from disabled man

By JENNY MICHAEL | Bismarck Tribune

A former priest faces prison time for using the money of a disabled man to participate in Internet scams. Cyprian Meier had lost his job with the Bismarck Catholic Diocese for spending parishioners’ money in the same kind of schemes.

Meier, 67, pleaded guilty in December to Class B felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult. South Central District Judge Donald Jorgensen is slated to sentence him on Feb. 17. Meier faces up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.

According to court documents, Meier was providing home health care for a 56-year-old Bismarck man from May to October. The Bismarck man, who was paralyzed and died on Dec. 3, reported to Bismarck police in November that he believed Meier had been making unauthorized transactions on his savings and checking accounts.

Detective Chad Seidel spoke to Meier, who admitted to using the other man’s money “to fund his addictions to money scams, such as Internet scams,” Seidel wrote in an affidavit.

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