Sister Lana taught there for 20 years. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, first made headlines in 2018 after she and another nun were found to have taken as much as $500,000 to finance gambling trips to Las Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Nun stops burglary with quick thinking and prayers: This is Gods property, Sister Andre, the worlds oldest living person, dies at 118, I was a celibate nun for 24 years then fell in love with a Catholic monk, Priest accused of inviting two nuns to take part in a threesome. 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. A subsequent financial review found that a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret, with the Torrance Police Department expanding its investigation into the matter in December 2018. Head Nun Caught Stealing Over $800,000 From Catholic Elementary School Where She Worked. Defense attorney Mark Byrne told The Post that Kreuper joined her order when she was 18 years old and has been an educator for 54 years. According to local news outlet KTLA5, Kreuper was aided by Sister Lana Chang, who taught eighth grade and was vice-principal at the school. 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. 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. "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. She broke the law, she has no excuses for it and she took full responsibility.. Wikimedia CommonsKreuper used the stolen funds for personal expenses like paying off credit cards but primarily to finance her gambling habit at casinos across Nevada. 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. What are the details? Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, was sentenced to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering. So shes basically under house arrest, which she accepts.. As a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. But many parents were furious when they discovered the diocese had decided not to press charges against Kreuper because she had shown remorse.. The nun was in charge of overseeing tuition money, fees the school received and charitable donations, prosecutors said. A financial review showed a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret, it said. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. 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." She said that she diverted school funds into the St. James convent account and then into its federal credit union savings account. 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,. A federal judge sentenced Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, a nun and former Catholic school principal, to a year in prison for embezzling more than $835,000 from the school she ran to fund a more secular lifestyle including gambling trips. The rest, they were depositing into a separate account and using for their own purposes. The two nuns. GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. She basically was able to keep them secret and the school administration was never the wiser that there were these extra funds that she was taking, Kumar told The Post. 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. She retired as the schools principal in 2018, after 28 years in the role, it said. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". 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. St. James Catholic SchoolSister Mary Margaret Kreuper embezzled $835,339 in the schools tuition, fees, and charitable donations for her personal expenses. Thats why it came as a shock to many when the two sisters were accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the schools funds and using it to gamble in Las Vegas. The two embezzling sisters are Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang. 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. Byrne said the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet already imposed some severe and onerous restrictions on Kreuper. "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. We continue to offer our prayers for all impacted by this matter.. One man, whose children attend St James, grumbled that the nuns had been using the school as if it was their own private ATM. Until this last spring, Kreuper was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance and Chang was. Parents told The Daily Breeze in December 2018 they were not prepared to absolve Kreuper of her sins. 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. She also managed several of the schools bank accounts, including one that had been set up to pay the living expenses of the other nuns who worked there. 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. Performance & security by Cloudflare. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. 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.. She currently faces up to 40 years in federal prison with a court date set for July 1. Her religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has yet to publicly comment on the matter. But according to the US Attorneys Office Central District of California, Kreuper 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.. Of course! Police have been informed but the Archdiocese does not intend to pursue criminal proceedings against the sisters. She had reportedly worked there for 20 years before both retired in 2018, shortly before their scandal was revealed. Chang was a teacher for 20 years before being promoted to vice principal. I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses, Kreuper said during Mondays hearing, according to the LA Times. Sisters of St. Joseph of CarondeletSister Lana Chang worked alongside Sister Kreuper for 20 years, at least 10 of which they spent embezzling the schools money together. 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. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Your IP: To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Torrance and Sister Lana Chang. Kreuper even took fellow nuns on some of those excursions and spent thousands of the elementary schools money, Kumar said. The lawyers added that she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and is very remorseful.. Church officials expressed willingness to forgive the two sisters for embezzling half a million dollars from the church. Kreupers crimes occurred during her role as the schools principal, a position from which she retired in 2018. The diocese had initially called the police, but after the nuns confessed they said they wouldnt press charges against the nuns. The statement also condemned the embezzlement, saying, we will not defend the actions of our Sisters. Sister Lana Chang worked alongside Sister Kreuper for 20 years, at least 10 of which they spent embezzling the schools money together. Two longtime nuns at St. James Catholic School in Torrance allegedly embezzled as much as $500,000 in tuition, fees and donations. 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. Officials also say that as they audit started, Sister Mary Margaret started to seem very anxious they say that she even asked people to falsify information for her. They did not necessarily overlook, but asked to judge her more by her entire life rather than the theft from by St. James (Catholic School). The audit uncovered a long-forgotten account into which Kreuper would divert checks made out to the school. As soon as she was confronted, she accepted full responsibility for what she had done and she has cooperated fully with law enforcement and the Archdiocese. Kreuper acknowledged that for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, she embezzled $835,339 from St. James Catholic School. So there were a considerable number of parents who were very upset and obviously feeling quite betrayed. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. What happened is wrong. 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. They were angry that their children had been denied new facilities at the school because of Kreupers transgressions. While Kreuper spent the schools funds on gambling trips, the former principal continued to ask parents to donate more money to the school on top of their $6,000 annual tuition. Archdiocese of Los Angeles officials said in a statement that school officials and others cooperated with the investigation. Los Angeles Archdiocese of Los Angeles Gambling nuns nuns Las Vegas Saint James Catholic School . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Name, email and comment will be stored in our database. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper embezzled $835,339 in the schools tuition, fees, and charitable donations for her personal expenses. He was unhappy with the churchs decision not to prosecute. Kreuper claimed she had a rich uncle who paid for the trips. Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with . In addition to stealing $835,339, she falsified monthly and annual reports, and instructed employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. 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. This was really an abuse of position of trust, right, Kumar said. 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. news, guides, reviews and information since 1995. 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. 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, her lawyers told The Guardian. We had a lot of letters from parents and students who knew about the fact that she had taken the money, and presumably the money was taken from them, and yet they found it in their hearts to forgive her, Byrne said. Mary was a precocious child. 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. Playing at online casino for real money can be a thrilling experience! It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Richard D. Stabile. The two Sisters are removed from their residence and placed in a religious house under the supervision of community leadership. She confessed to causing losses to St. James Catholic School totaling $835,339 over the course of the scheme, the statement said. 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 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. 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. Concern over the schools finances started to increase as the Archdiocese of Los Angeles began to prepare for the change of leadership in 2018, the archdiocese said in a statement. But all the while, they were using school funds to pay for their jaunts. This snapshot of Mary Margaret Bartock's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. Nuns joining Kreupers, order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, take vows of poverty when they are called to their vocation. 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. Diverting embezzled funds into secret accounts, Kreuper used the money "to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for," including large gambling expenses and trips to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Temecula, according to her plea agreement. An 80-year-old nun who gambled away more than $835,000 in school funds was sentenced to twelve months and a day in federal prison Monday, according to a press release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). 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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.. 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. Two nuns in California allegedly stole more than $500,000 from the school they had been at for years, which they spent in casinos and on vacations. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? 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Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering after she admitted to investigators that she embezzled hundreds of thousands of. 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.. According to The New York Times, the 79-year-old retired nun was just recently charged with wire fraud and money laundering. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. The nuns apparently told everyone that a rich uncle was paying for their trips. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," Myers added . Scott Varley/Torrance Daily Breeze, via Getty Images. Two nuns from California stole funds from the Catholic school they were at and spent in on vacations and gambling. Many of the letters I cited and many of the people who spoke, talked about wanting something more from their childrens education. And wasnt it even weirder that she was going to Vegas all the time? They noted that a lay person in the same situation could expect a lengthy prison sentence. 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. Some parents said they planned to go to the police as a complaining party. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. Kreuper pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. Kreuper stole about $83,000 per year, which is the equivalent of tuition for 14 students, prosecutors argued. 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. Kreuper has admitted she took the money and expressed remorse. 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 nuns have admitted to embezzling money from the Catholic school where they worked and using the cash to fund gambling sprees. Jack Alexander of Redondo Beach said that the pair would often go traveling and gambling, claiming they had been given the money by a rich relative. Two nuns from a California Catholic school have been accused of siphoning $500,000 in tuition, fees, and donations that could have gone towards the school's development into a different account that was then used to fund trips and casino visits. That order has also paid for Kreupers living expenses for multiple decades. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. She'd taught fifth grade at Our Lady of Las Vegas . The employees then reported Kreuper to the monsignor of the parish, Kumar said. But not all the parishioners were as understanding. Police said they were still carrying out their own investigation. This lulled St. James School and the Administration into believing that the schools finances were being properly accounted for and its financial assets properly safeguarded, which, in turn, allowed defendant Kreuper to maintain her access and control of the schools finances and accounts and, thus, continue operating the fraudulent scheme, according to the DOJ. At the time of Flynns reporting, St. James School estimated the two women embezzled around $500,000. She alone will face criminal charges. 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). Then, read about the Missouri nun who smuggled two pounds of cocaine and blamed her internet boyfriend for doing so. https://t.co/fsUwStYj3J. We've received your submission. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Sister Mary Margaret retired in June after 28 years as principal of the K-8 school, which serves students from Torrance and Redondo Beach. LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance, who as a nun took a vow of poverty, was sentenced Monday to 12 months and a day behind bars for embezzling more than $835,000 in school funds to support a gambling habit and other personal expenses. Kreuper claimed the school was always strapped for cash, then funneled donations into shell accounts that she and Chang would use to fund trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Retired nun pleads guilty to embezzling $835,000 from school, in part to finance gambling. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The attorney said the nuns had spent the money on gambling trips and on vacations. The World's Online Gaming Authority Since 1995, Gambling Nuns Embezzled $500,000 from California School, Blew it On Casino Junkets, Gambling Nun Gets One Year in Prison for Stealing $835k from L.A.
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