Thats when they started to notice irregularities in the bookkeeping. Kreuper was only exposed when she retired in 2018 and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles noted some irregularities in the schools bookkeeping while searching for her replacement. 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. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. 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. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". As it stands, the Los Angeles Archdiocese said it was shocked and saddened.. Officials said that they carried out an internal audit as a matter of routine, since the school was about to get new leadership. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was 47 years old and had been a Catholic educator for more than 19 years when she came to St. James School in 1988. Los Angeles Archdiocese of Los Angeles Gambling nuns nuns Las Vegas Saint James Catholic School . Besides, both the nuns in question were in positions of trust. 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. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. 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. 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. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. Two nuns have admitted to embezzling money from the Catholic school where they worked and using the cash to fund gambling sprees. Let the family know you are thinking of them. Officials said the sisters were in charge of collecting checks and depositing them into the schools account. 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. It is believed the nuns used that money to spend on travel and gambling at casinos over the years. Kreuper pleaded guilty to the charges in July and also admitted she falsified monthly and annual reports to the school administration, and told employees to cover up her fraudulent conduct. . 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. the dead priest whose DNA could help solve a nuns decades-old murder, the Missouri nun who smuggled two pounds of cocaine. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Sister Mary Margaret Gambling. But all the while, they were using school funds to pay for their jaunts. 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. Powered by. She confessed after the diocese hired an ex-FBI agent to grill staff members at the school. She was rumbled in June 2018, just as she was about to retire after 28 years as principal, when an internal audit blew the lid off the racket. 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. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". Kumar said Kreuper was able to dodge detection for so many years because she would divert tuition checks and other funds to two old bank accounts that other school administrators were not aware were still being used. 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. 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. The employees then reported Kreuper to the monsignor of the parish, Kumar said. Defense attorneys said Kreuper became a nun when she was 18 years old, and for the next 59 years "dedicated her life to helping others and educating children in Archdiocesan schools. She said that she diverted school funds into the St. James convent account and then into its federal credit union savings account. In a statement on Tuesday about Sister Mary Margarets guilty plea, the archdiocese said the revelations had shocked and saddened the community. Kreuper was released under her own recognizance but will have to turn herself in to the Federal Bureau of Prisons by June 7 to begin her year-and-a-day sentence. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper of Los Angeles will serve one year, and one day, behind federal prison bars for fraud and money laundering charges. This was really an abuse of position of trust, right, Kumar said. 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. 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. She also controlled the schools credit union accounts, which she used to divert other funds into that she would then use for the spending, according to prosecutors. Click to reveal 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. Looking back, though, wasnt it a little strange that Sister Mary Margaret was always organizing poker nights at the school for charity, and that she always made the final table? Chang was a teacher for 20 years before being promoted to vice principal. 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. Until this last spring, Kreuper was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance and Chang was. 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. Kreuper's attorney Mark Byrne explained that his client, who retired in 2018, has been under strict supervision at her convent. So shes basically under house arrest, which she accepts.. She will be under two years supervision when she is released, Kumar said. 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. CA: 2 Nuns Accused of Stealing Substantial Amount of Money From South Bay Catholic School. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Kreuper stole about $83,000 per year, which is the equivalent of tuition for 14 students, prosecutors argued. Parents told The Daily Breeze in December 2018 they were not prepared to absolve Kreuper of her sins. In 1940, she was 2 years old and lived in Belmont, Ohio, with her father, mother, 2 brothers, and sister. (Youtube/KCAL) Listen Play Slots for Real Money at Wild Casino Right Now! Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. 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. The two embezzling sisters are Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang. 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. GQ may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Alexander said, These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, Oh, no, weve got a rich uncle, Alexander told the paper. Kreuper and Chang are both members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. "The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School," the Daily Breeze reported. She'd taught fifth grade at Our Lady of Las Vegas . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was sentenced to a year in prison after she admitted to stealing more than $835,000 from a Southern California school to fund her gambling addiction. Church officials said that both Kreuper and Chang confessed to taking the money, and expressed remorse, asking for forgiveness and prayers. Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. 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.. What are the details? 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. 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. Sisters Mary Margaret Krueper, left, and Lana Chang. Instead, the school's principal, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was stealing the money and using it to bankroll her gambling habit, federal prosecutors said, violating her vow of. "The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us," Kearns said. She cant leave the premises unless shes given permission and she has to tell them where shes going and she has to be accompanied by somebody, the defense attorney told The Post. 'I have sinned': 80-year-old gambling nun jailed after blaming gender pay gap for stealing $800,000 from kids Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper said she stole tuition checks and donations in. She ran the institution on a shoestring while plundering an account containing tuition fees and charitable donations over a period of ten years. Graf said: "We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips, we do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account.". 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. Sister Mary Margaret worked at the school for 29 years. Our Sisters take full responsibility for the choices they made and are subject to the law., The order said that they were imposing their own kind of punishment on Kreuper and on Chang: Canonical Restrictions have been imposed. Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed . Kreuper has admitted she took the money and expressed remorse. Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with her friend and housemate, Sister Lana Chang. Kreuper used the stolen funds for personal expenses like paying off credit cards but primarily to finance her gambling habit at casinos across Nevada. The nun was in charge of overseeing tuition money, fees the school received and charitable donations, prosecutors said. 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. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? 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. More on this story First at 10 on Fox. 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 . "I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people.". The statement also condemned the embezzlement, saying, we will not defend the actions of our Sisters. Sister Mary Kreuper served as the principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, for 28 years. There have been calls among some parents for the pair to be charged while others said they should be forgiven. Many of the letters I cited and many of the people who spoke, talked about wanting something more from their childrens education. Byrne said the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet already imposed some severe and onerous restrictions on Kreuper. 3 Inmates Taken To Hospitals After Medical Emergency At LA County Jail, SoCal Storm Timeline: When To Expect More Rain, Snow And A Reprieve, Downed Trees & Mud Flows + Check Out Supremes Floating Skate Bowl, 'Cookin with GAS' 30th Anniversary Improv 2023: Groundlings, Los Angeles/WeHo, AlienCon 2023: Convention Center, Pasadena, The Best You Expo is coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center, 3 Days to Party Celebrating Women Everyday in LA, LA Cat Extravaganza & Adoption Event 2023: Fairplex, Pomona, 5th Annual The Best You Awards Ceremony and Charity Gala, Personal Assistant for Older New Yorkers in Manhattan NYC, Modeling Agency For Prostitution Scheme And Sexual Exploitation: AG, Shaken My Turkey's Death Toll, County Looks To Require Quake Retrofits, CA Scandal-Makers & Movie-Makers Shape 2022's Most Popular Baby Names, Michelin Adds 30 SoCal Restaurants To Prestigious Guide, Only In California: Car Chases Even Hollywood Couldn't Dream Up. 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Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Oh boy, the flying nun really did it this time. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students," he said. People gamble in a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in this illustrative image. 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.. Shawn Christopher Flannery, age 50 of Batesville, passed away January 28, 2023 at Margaret Mary Health after a long battle with cancer. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral fortitude . 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. She confessed to causing losses to St. James Catholic School totaling $835,339 over the course of the scheme, the statement said. When Mary Margaret Bartock was born about 1938, her father, Steve, was 39, and her mother, Elizabeth, was 29. 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. ", 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. Ultimately Kreuper admitted to stealing over $835,000. news, guides, reviews and information since 1995. The rest, they were depositing into a separate account and using for their own purposes. 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