Officials said Kreuper and Chang used a large portion of the stolen funds for "personal gains" and "recycled" some of it back into the school, the Press-Telegram reported. As part of her efforts to suppress everything, she got school employees to change and destroy financial records during a school audit. Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty, admitted in the plea agreement to diverting school funds into the St. James Convent account and the St. James savings account and then using the diverted 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. Trust shouldnt be broken like that., Kevin Kearns, who met Kreuper in 2011 when he enrolled his son in kindergarten at St. James, asked Wright to show leniency, saying she put the students and parents above everything else., The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us, Kearns said. 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 Lake Tahoe. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. "Unfortunately, later in her life 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. The archdiocese did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment. This is merely an explanation.. },false) Officials with the archdiocese alleged the nuns spent some of the money on personal trips and gambling, the Press-Telegram reported. According to the plea agreement, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018. (213) 894-4465. One former student said Kreuper violated her trust and contributed to her decision to leave the Catholic Church. Kreuper, who retired in 2018 after 28 years as the schools principal, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and money laundering, confessing that she stole tuition checks, spent much of the money on casino outings with friends and tried to cover up the embezzlement. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, from Los Angeles faces up to 40 years in federal prison for embezzling funds for over 10 years from St. James Catholic School in Torrance.. The religious order Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, of which Sr. Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sr. Lana Chang are members, has agreed to a "full restitution" of money used for personal matters by the two women, the letter said. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ The revelation came as a rude shock to parents who were led to believe that school was struggling to stay afloat because of a lack of funds. She diverted tuition to a secret account, which she used to fund casino trips, prosecutors said. Sister Mary Margaret, 77, was a pillar of the community who spent 29 years as the principal of St. James Catholic School. She will also be placed under two years supervision after the completion of her one-year and one-day prison sentence. Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted to stealing the money from 2008 to 2018 while she was principal at St. James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Arlington Heights in Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.. "They were just such staunch defenders of moral fortitude, they were really tough on the kids," she said. Sister Lana, her 67-year-old accomplice, worked there for 20 years as. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, admitted stealing $835,000 while principal of an LA-area school. Mary Margaret Kreuper had been principal at St. James Catholic School, where Sr. Lana Chang had been a teacher. Kreuper allegedly held on to some of the checks and deposited them into a separate bank account than the one used by the school. And I don't look at nuns as ordinary people. Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted to taking the money from St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, over a period of 10 years, ending in September 2018. Minyvonne Burkeis a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Ive used this to teach my son that were 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 for stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Her plea agreement from June 8 with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said the 79-year-old had diverted funds into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. 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 Lake. After reviewing all the letters, Wright said, it appeared most families had forgiven Kreuper. Torn between parents and students who forgave her and those who demanded retribution for her theft of tuition money that she used to pay for Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe vacations, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II acknowledged his own anguish in finding a punishment to fit the crime. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.''. In March 2017, for instance, Kreuper deposited $5,700 in checks made out to the school into the convent account and then, in April 2017, wrote a check against the convent account for $6,000, made out to person who deposited the check and gave her the cash, the site reported. Kreuper was principal at the school for 29 years. Crime News is your destination for true crime stories from around the world, breaking crime news, and information about Oxygen's original true crime shows and documentaries. Meyers also said at the meeting that Kreuper began displaying "very nervous and very anxious" behavior about the audit and allegedly asked staff to change records. }); LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Mary Margaret Kreuper, a now-retired nun and a Los Angeles resident was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on Tuesday, June 8. gads_event = event; Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was just 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. She must also pay $825,338 in restitution, covering most of the losses of $835,339 from St. James Catholic School in the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II has set sentencing for February 7, 2022, when he would expect her to make a statement. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California. eventAction: 'click_adunit' hitType: 'event', She became a nun when she was 18 years old, and for the next 59 years she dedicated her life to helping others and educating children in archdiocesan schools, Kreupers attorneys wrote. She called her crimes a violation of my vows, the commandments, the law, and above all the sacred trust that so many had placed in me.. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of the Arlington Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who also ordered her to pay $825,338 in restitution. 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. }); "We. The now-retired nun, Mary Margaret Kreuper,. Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, the former a former principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Los Angeles County, confessed to stealing $500,000 from the school to fund . A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". ga('ads.send', { Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. https://t.co/sk6S5pmKk7, She used the money "to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for." }); The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. Wright ordered Kreuper, who took a vow of poverty and whose living expenses are paid for by the order, to pay $835,339 in restitution to St. James. "She became a nun when she was 18 years old, and for the next 59 years she dedicated her life to helping others and educating children in Archdiocesan schools," he stated. Auditors at the meeting said that checks made out to the school for tuition and other fees first went to Kreuper before being handed over to the bookkeeping staff. Be the first one to comment on this story. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. Wright told Kreuper shed been one heck of a teacher during her 62 years as a nun. Kreuper controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one established to pay the . For three years, Byrne told the judge, the nuns in her order have kept her under severe restrictions at a convent. ", The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to which the Chang and Kreuper belonged to had released a statement after their scheme came to light in 2018. Urgent needs call us to bold conversation and prophetic action. A California nun is heading to jail after she admitted to stealing more than $835,000 in funds from a Catholic school to pay off her credit card and gambling debts. Her deadline to show up for incarceration is noon on June 7. Please logout and login again. These also include her gambling trips, revealed federal prosecutors. Prior to her sentencing, the nun had already been placed under several restrictions by the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the Torrance Police Department, the FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Prosecutors say that Kreuper who served as the principal of St. James' school for 28 years prior to her 2018 arrest began embezzling money from the school in 2008 when she was around 66 years old. Though the statutory maximum on those two charges was 40 years, prosecutors asked that she serve two, according to Courthouse News, and the judge in the case sentenced the senior citizen to just 12 months. Kreuper controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one established to pay the living expenses of the nuns employed by the school, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement. Kreuper promised to follow more closely in Christs footsteps and spend the rest of her life trying to make amends. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. '', U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II said at last year's plea hearing that he was raised as a Roman Catholic, "and was educated by nuns. Kreuper was sentenced to one year in prison Monday and told to pay back the money. hitType: 'event', United States Attorneys Office As per the plea deal, Kreuper reportedly used the embezzled money to fund her personal expenses, including large gambling bets and vacations to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Temecula. 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 . She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the retired principal of St. James Catholic School in California, has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison on charges of money laundering and federal wire. At the time of her plea agreement, her attorney, Mark Byrne, suggested another reason in a statement to Courthouse News. After charges were filed, her attorneys issued a statement saying she suffered "from mental illness that clouded her judgment.". You can be proud of that, he said. She was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison in addition to . When it was all over, she had been principal for a total of 28 years, they said. MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. 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