The employees then reported Kreuper to the monsignor of the parish, Kumar said. Some of them said they couldnt understand why the school had been operating on shoestring budget while Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana had been going on gambling sprees. Retired nun pleads guilty to embezzling $835,000 from school, in part to finance gambling. The two Sisters are removed from their residence and placed in a religious house under the supervision of community leadership. At least I hope you do.. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," Myers added . Thanks for contacting us. She was running the school that these parents had chosen to send their children [to], and not just for the academics. Mary Margaret Kreuper, a nun who admitted stealing more than $800,000 from St. James Catholic School in Torrance when she was its principal, spent some of the money on trips to Las Vegas and. Police said they were still carrying out their own investigation. Basically, for the last three and a half years, shes been driving her fellow sisters to doctors appointments and things like that. Sister Mary Margaret retired in June after 28 years as principal of the K-8 school, which serves students from Torrance and Redondo Beach. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very badly behaved nuns: Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and Sister Lana Chang, a principal and a teacher at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California. Two longtime nuns at St. James Catholic School in Torrance allegedly embezzled as much as $500,000 in tuition, fees and donations. Sister Mary Kreuper served as the principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, for 28 years. The statement pledged that the order would work with the diocese to discover the full amount that had been taken from the school; they pledged to restore all of the money that was stolen. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering for ripping off St. James Catholic School for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, according to a press release from the US Attorneys Office in the Central District of California. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with . Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. She further admitted "lulling St. James School and the administration into believing that the school's finances were being properly accounted for and its financial assets properly safeguarded," which allowed her to maintain access to the school's finances. In California, a septuagenarian nun faces up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges. In 1940, she was 2 years old and lived in Belmont, Ohio, with her father, mother, 2 brothers, and sister. Instead, they planned to address the situation internally through the investigation, restitution, and sanctions on the sisters. But that plan changed with the charges recently brought up against Sister Kreuper. But officials from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents and alumni of the school that auditors have not been able to trace all of the money trail. They were able to get away with it because the school was doing so well, financially, that nobody ever missed the money. Kreuper had retired as the school's principal earlier this year and she dealt with the school fees, which she allegedly withheld and deposited into an account only she and Chang knew about, the paper said. So there were a considerable number of parents who were very upset and obviously feeling quite betrayed. But in fact, the sisters were only depositing some of the checks that came in. Kreuper and Chang are both members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Powered by. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to [email protected]. Kreuper used her position to funnel $835,339 of the schools funds to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, including large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges, according to the plea agreement. Meanwhile, she would falsify monthly and annual reports to cover up her conduct. Parents have acknowledged that there were a number of red flags at St. James, but no one wants to assume the worst of nuns. Parents told The Daily Breeze in December 2018 they were not prepared to absolve Kreuper of her sins. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. Kreuper used the stolen funds for personal expenses like paying off credit cards but primarily to finance her gambling habit at casinos across Nevada. For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. So shes basically under house arrest, which she accepts.. pic.twitter.com/Gcbn0WRky5, Karen Devine (@KarenDevineKESQ) December 11, 2018. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, who took a vow of poverty, begged a judge to show her mercy and spare her prison, saying: "I have sinned, I've broken the law and I have no excuses." Kreuper admitted embezzling about $835,000 (616,000) in donations, tuition and fee money between . Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. "The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us," Kearns said. We do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account, the attorney told the crowd at the meeting. But the Catholic church is glad to have a scandal that doesn't involve boy-rape, so they've got that going for them. Sister Mary Margaret admitted to a fraudulent scheme in which she lulled St. James School and the administration into believing that the schools finances were being properly accounted for and its financial assets properly safeguarded, prosecutors said. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral fortitude and that they were very hard on kids who slipped up and broke the rules. One man, whose children attend St James, grumbled that the nuns had been using the school as if it was their own private ATM. A disgraced nun who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Los Angeles Catholic elementary school and went on Vegas gambling sprees will be reciting her penance from inside a federal prison cell. news, guides, reviews and information since 1995. Kumar added Kreupers scheme was revealed after the school performed an informal audit shortly after the nun announced she would be retiring as principal in 2018. All rights reserved. When Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was 18 years old, she vowed to dedicate her life to the education of children and helping those in need. According to documents accompanying the plea agreement, Sister Mary Margaret diverted school funds into the schools convent account and its federal credit union savings account, and then used the money for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, including large gambling expenses at casinos in Nevada and credit card charges. And I don't look at nuns as ordinary people. Officials said the sisters were in charge of collecting checks and depositing them into the schools account. She confessed to causing losses to St. James Catholic School totaling $835,339 over the course of the scheme, the statement said. Kreuper even took fellow nuns on some of those excursions and spent thousands of the elementary schools money, Kumar said. Sister Mary Margaret Gambling. Sister Mary Margaret was charged on Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering while she was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Calif., the office of the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California said in a statement. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. ", The judge advised Kreuper that he expected her to make a statement at sentencing, adding, "I don't have to worry about (lies) coming from you.". CA: 2 Nuns Accused of Stealing Substantial Amount of Money From South Bay Catholic School.Principal, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and teacher Sister Lana Chang.Substantial amount of school funds for their personal use.https://t.co/nIiuz3JiDR. She will be under two years supervision when she is released, Kumar said. The Essential Michelle Yeoh Viewing Guide, Donna Kelce Tells Us the Story Behind Her Half-Eagles, Half-Chiefs Jersey, Sex Lives: A Guy Who Draws the Line at Married Men. As principal -- a position she had for nearly 30 years before she retired -- Kreuper was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees, as well as for charitable donations, according to documents filed in Los Angeles federal court. Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, who belong to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, are suspected of embezzling a "substantial" amount of money from a Catholic school in. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. They were angry that their children had been denied new facilities at the school because of Kreupers transgressions. Sister Lana taught there for 20 years. She broke the law, she has no excuses for it and she took full responsibility.. Kreuper, who was the principal of the school for 28 years, agreed to plead guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors, the release said. Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang are believed to have siphoned off cash from tuition fees and donations at St James school in Torrance, near Los Angeles, for at least a decade.. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 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Officials in the archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents that they had proof that a Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from the St James Catholic School in Torrance. Before Kreuper was sentenced, parents of children attending St. James and former students sent letters about Kreuper's role at the school and the impact of her actions. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Richard D. Stabile. On Monday, an attorney told the parents of St James students that the two nuns had used school funds as if the funds belonged to their own personal account. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, was sentenced to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering. By Megan Carpentier The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. CA: 2 Nuns Accused of Stealing Substantial Amount of Money From South Bay Catholic School. Alexander also pointed out that the two nuns had routinely lied to parents at the school about how they were paying for their vacations and their gambling trips. Kreuper pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses, Kreuper said during Mondays hearing, according to the LA Times. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". Monsignor Micheal Meyers, the pastor at St. James Catholic Church sent a letter to pupils' parents stating that Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the nuns' order, is cooperating with the parish and the Archdiocese to find out how much money was taken. At the time, the church and archdiocese said that they would not press criminal charges against either woman. 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Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper of Los Angeles will serve one year, and one day, behind federal prison bars for fraud and money laundering charges. Mary Margaret Kreuper of Los Angeles was sentenced to one year and a day in prison after pleading guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who worked as the school principal for 28 years, and Sister Lana Chang, confessed to embezzling at least $500,000 from the Catholic school so that they could gamble . Her religious order, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, which according to court documents was paying for her living expenses, said in a statement on Wednesday that it would not comment until the legal process was completed. They wanted to get a Catholic education with the morals and values that they believed in and that they lead their lives in, and thats what they were looking for in the school. "Our community is concerned and saddened by this situation and regret any injury to our long relationship with the families of the school," the Order said in a statement. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. Eventually, a forensic accountant discovered that there was a half-million dollars missing from the schools accounts. While other checks were being cashed properly and accounted for, the crooked nun deposited other checks in the secret bank accounts before they were even accounted for by staff. Kreuper's attorney Mark Byrne explained that his client, who retired in 2018, has been under strict supervision at her convent. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang of St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. He added that an expert report explained she had a gambling addiction. As a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. Performance & security by Cloudflare. . You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. She diverted school funds into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account, which were used "to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, including large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges," the Department of Justice stated. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. They added that she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done., They said Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she was 18, and for the next 59 years she dedicated her life to helping others and educating children in Archdiocesan schools.. Photo: Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Jen Shah Reports to Prison to Start Her 6.5-Year Sentence for Telemarketing Fraud Scheme, Jen Shah Gets a Meaningful Tattoo Dedicated to Her Family Before Reporting for Prison, The True Story Behind Hulu's 'Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence', Cold Cases Heat Up: How Advances in DNA Technology Are Helping to Bring Justice for Victims, Jen Shah's'RHOSLC' Costars Claim She Asked Them for Money to Pay Legal Fees amid Court Battle, Who Is Larry Ray? The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Kreuper stole about $83,000 per year, which is the equivalent of tuition for 14 students, prosecutors argued. We continue to offer our prayers for all impacted by this matter.. She confessed after the diocese hired an ex-FBI agent to grill staff members at the school. "I've used this to teach my son that we're all human, we all make mistakes, but the power of forgiveness is the most powerful tool that we have. LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Mary Margaret Kreuper, a now-retired nun who was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud and money laundering charges. Mary Margaret Kreuper, principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Calif., until 2018, was charged with stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips. Despite taking a vow of poverty, an 80-year-old nun was sentenced on Monday for stealing more than $800,000 to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips. 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But this week, prosecutors said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, had agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than $835,000 from a Catholic elementary school to support a gambling habit and to pay for other personal expenses. Margaret Mary Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were accused of embezzling tuition, fees, and donations made in favor of St. James Catholic School to fund their gambling trips (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) Kreuper is also accused of directing St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. Besides, both the nuns in question were in positions of trust. St. James Catholic SchoolSister Mary Margaret Kreuper embezzled $835,339 in the schools tuition, fees, and charitable donations for her personal expenses. A California nun will plead guilty to swindling over $800,000 from the Catholic elementary school she ran to help pay for her gambling trips, federal prosecutors said. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". The two embezzling sisters are Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. In total, it is believed she stole $835,339 at least that authorities are currently aware of. After charges were filed, her attorneys issued a statement saying Sister Mary Margaret suffered "from mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done. This was really an abuse of position of trust, right, Kumar said. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. The nuns apparently told everyone that a rich uncle was paying for their trips. Kreuper controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one established to pay the living expenses of nuns -- who had taken a vow of poverty -- employed by the school, prosecutors said. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, a former principal at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used tuition fees and donations to subsidize casino gambling expenses and credit. The sisters stole a total of $500,000, or half a million dollars, officials said. For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. It is believed the nuns used that money to spend on travel and gambling at casinos over the years. We were an ATM, and people know it and they wont ask for justice, Jack Alexander, a father at the school, said. Bank records show Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had been embezzling funds from St. James Catholic School in Torrance for at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported. After reading about the retired nun who stole over $800,000 to support her gambling habit, learn about the dead priest whose DNA could help solve a nuns decades-old murder. She ran the institution on a shoestring while plundering an account containing tuition fees and charitable donations over a period of ten years. The archdiocese and St. James Parish and School are grateful to local and federal law enforcement agencies for their work in the investigation of this matter. It was then that Kreuper started to get nervous and told two employees to destroy documents and directed them to not mention to the auditors that certain documents were missing. In July 1520, when scarcely four and a half years old, she entertained a visiting French delegation with a performance on the virginals (a type of harpsichord). Prosecutors said Kreuper, who was the schools principal for 28 years, diverted funds to pay for expenses that her order the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet would never have approved, including large gambling expenses from casino trips and credit card charges she made from 2008 to September 2018. Sister Mary Margarets lawyers, Mark A. Byrne and Daniel V. Nixon, said she was very remorseful., As soon as she was confronted she accepted full responsibility for what she had done and she has cooperated completely with law enforcement and the Archdiocese, they said in a statement. Crime & Safety Gambling Nun's Bad 'Habit' Catches Up To Her Catholic school principal Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced to prison for embezzling from the school to feed a gambling habit. Let the family know you are thinking of them. Head Nun Caught Stealing Over $800,000 From Catholic Elementary School Where She Worked. Kreuper acknowledged that for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, she embezzled $835,339 from St. James Catholic School. Apply Bed Bath and Beyond coupon and save 25% off your entire purchase, Target Circle: up to 50% off with Target promo code, With Asos Promo Code you take 70% OFF Select styles, Michael Kors promo code: sign up for KORSVIP + Get 10% off on First Order, 2023 Cond Nast. Casino.org is the worlds leading independent online gaming authority, providing trusted online casino From award-winning writing and photography to binge-ready videos to electric live events, GQ meets millions of modern men where they live, creating the moments that create conversations. Regardless, dont trust any nun who absolutely crushes Texas Holdem, and read Flynns original story here. "At our school, we have initiated additional procedures and oversight policies for financial management and reporting responsibilities," Meyers wrote. He was unhappy with the churchs decision not to prosecute. This snapshot of Mary Margaret Bartock's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering for ripping off St. James Catholic School for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018,. Its unclear what will happen to Chang, or whether shes even involved in any ongoing investigation. "This is merely an explanation.". The statement also condemned the embezzlement, saying, we will not defend the actions of our Sisters. The rest, they were depositing into a separate account and using for their own purposes. She was the principal. "I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses," Kreuper told U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II, Los Angeles Times reported. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral fortitude . Sister Lana Chang worked alongside Sister Kreuper for 20 years, at least 10 of which they spent embezzling the schools money together. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. Bank records show Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had been embezzling funds from St. James Catholic School in Torrance for at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported.. Last updated on: February 7, 2022, 08:42h. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper has agreed to plead guilty to charges that she embezzled the money while she was the principal at a Catholic school in Torrance, Calif., prosecutors said. She said that she diverted school funds into the St. James convent account and then into its federal credit union savings account. She currently faces up to 40 years in federal prison with a court date set for July 1. Prosecutors asked for a sentence of two years, but US District Judge Otis D. Wright II said during Mondays sentencing that he also struggled to find the proper sentence for the nun, and even said she was one heck of a teacher., You can be proud of that, Wright said, according to the LA Times. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. Nun Stole Over $800,000 to Support Gambling Habit, Prosecutors Say, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/california-nun-guilty-gambling.html. What happened is wrong. They are also removed from all public ministry., Sisters Mary Margaret Krueper & Lana Chang: 5 Fast Facts, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of $825,338.57 in restitution for the money she embezzled while she was a principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Calif. Her religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has yet to publicly comment on the matter. Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and in a plea agreement pleaded guilty to both charges, the Associated Press reported. The offices of the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California revealed that she had used funds raised for the school for personal expenses as well as gambling. A financial review showed a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret, it said. Assistant US Attorney Poonam Kumar told The Post that the wayward nun took frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Temecula and other locations throughout Southern California. Sisters Mary Margaret Krueper, left, and Lana Chang. Kevin Kearns, who enrolled his son in kindergarten in 2011, says he has used this as a teachable moment and asked for leniency for Kreuper, the LA Times reported.