Real estate agent, wife charged in $500k lodge theft

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A real estate agent and his wife are charged with stealing roughly $500,000 from the George Washington 1776 Masonic Lodge in Whitefish Bay, spending the money on luxury cars, personal items and debts, according to a criminal complaint.

Tyler Kristopeit, 38, and his wife, Katie Kristopeit, 37, of Muskego, are each charged with conspiracy to commit theft in a business setting of more than $100,000 and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Each count carries a maximum penalty of 12 years and six months in prison and a $25,000 fine.

The couple was arrested on April 13 during a search of their residence in Muskego. Each made an initial appearance on April 17 and were released on $10,000 signature bonds. They are due back in court April 22 for a review of release conditions.

Tyler Kristopeit, a former officer at the Masonic Lodge, a fraternal service and social organization, is accused of stealing money from the lodge for years, culminating in the sale of the lodge.

The lodge, located at 517 E. Beaumont Ave., was sold in late 2025 for $2 million to Sendik’s, which is building an expanded store on the site where the building once stood.

The stolen money was laundered through accounts in Katie Kristopeit’s name, according to the complaint, and used for various expenses and debts.

Representatives from the Masons could not immediately be reached.

After her arrest, Katie Kristopeit told a Whitefish Bay Police detective she was “waiting for something like this (arrest) to happen.”

She added her husband “is not denying that he stole from the lodge and told her that things just got out of control for him and he didn’t know why he started stealing from the lodge.”

Katie Kristopeit said her husband told her the money from the lodge was for reimbursements. The detective wrote it was “obvious” that Katie Kristopeit was lying about the lodge funds being reimbursements because of her knowledge of the thefts.

“Katie Kristopeit showed no emotion and just nodded as the complainant (detective) told her they had spent close to $500,000 in stolen funds from the lodge since October 2025,” the complaint said.

There are no comments from Tyler Kristopeit in the complaint.

His attorney, Rebecca Coffee, said, “We are going to let the matter unfold in the court system. We have no further comment.”

Katie Kristopeit’s attorney, Jane Heather Christopherson, was not immediately available for comment.

The criminal complaint alleges:

In late February, an attorney for the George Washington 1776 Masonic Lodge reported money missing from the $700,000 sale of the lodge in late 2025. Questions were raised when a new Worship Master took over at the lodge.

Records showed that more than $120,000 was moved from the Masons’ account to an account in Katie Kristopeit’s name shortly after the building sale.

There also was about $45,000 moved from the Masons’ account to Tyler Kristopeit’s account. In addition, the Masons’ account was used for expenses like a cable bill, grocery store purchases and Amazon charges. The new Masons leader, who was not named in the complaint, said none of the expenses were authorized by the Masons.

Following the sale of the building, about $475,000 was missing from the Masons’ account. The new leader of the Masons noted there were two accounts from 2023 that together contained more than $200,000; both were closed after being overdrawn.

The Masons’ leader also said he could find no evidence of $900,000 in investments that Tyler Kristopeit wrote the Masons had in a Jan. 15, 2026, memo.

Of the $120,000 moved into the account in Katie Kristopeit’s name, she said about $73,000 went for a Mercedes for Tyler Kristopeit and $14,000 was for the lease of a Mercedes for her, according to the complaint.

Katie Kristopeit also paid at least two relatives back for debts from the funds. She said the couple was in a financial bind and borrowed money from family members.