A staff writer for All Thats Interesting, Marco Margaritoff has also published work at outlets including People, VICE, and Complex, covering everything from film to finance to technology. 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. Until this last spring, Kreuper was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance and Chang was. 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. 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. Its unclear what will happen to Chang, or whether shes even involved in any ongoing investigation. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion, Armed Woman Who Held Up Vegas Casino Tracked by Cops, Nuns' Tour Against Trump Tax Law to End at Mar-a-Lago. The archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents about the suspected embezzlement in a meeting on Monday evening. Eventually, a forensic accountant discovered that there was a half-million dollars missing from the schools accounts. Principal, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and teacher Sister Lana Chang. 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. 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. More on this story First at 10 on Fox. 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 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.. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Head Nun Caught Stealing Over $800,000 From Catholic Elementary School Where She Worked. 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. So there were a considerable number of parents who were very upset and obviously feeling quite betrayed. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". This snapshot of Mary Margaret Bartock's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. ", 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.". 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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 and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. She ran the institution on a shoestring while plundering an account containing tuition fees and charitable donations over a period of ten years. Performance & security by Cloudflare. "The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us," Kearns said. Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed . 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. According to The New York Times, the 79-year-old retired nun was just recently charged with wire fraud and money laundering. On December 10, the order issued a statement about the charges of financial misdoings. They noted that a lay person in the same situation could expect a lengthy prison sentence. 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. Then, read about the Missouri nun who smuggled two pounds of cocaine and blamed her internet boyfriend for doing so. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. One of the things she said when she was first confronted by the LA Archdiocese and even before law enforcement got involved was she did it in part because she believes priests get paid better than nuns, Kumar told The Post. 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. Your email address will not be published. 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). Bobby Kent And The Murder That Inspired The Cult Classic Film "Bully", What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch, Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images. To revisit this article, visit My Profile, thenView saved stories. 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Kreuper's attorney Mark Byrne explained that his client, who retired in 2018, has been under strict supervision at her convent. 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. He was unhappy with the churchs decision not to prosecute. We continue to offer our prayers for all impacted by this matter.. 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. All rights reserved. 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. Their crimes came to light in 2018, and earlier this week, Kreuper pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and money laundering. The sisters stole a total of $500,000, or half a million dollars, officials said. One man, whose children attend St James, grumbled that the nuns had been using the school as if it was their own private ATM. Kreuper claimed she had a rich uncle who paid for the trips. Pictured, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang of St.James Catholic School, Torrance, California. The disgraced nun stole hundreds of thousands of . 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. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with . 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. 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. 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. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, will plead guilty to fraud and money laundering and faces up to 40 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. For a period of 10 years starting in 2008, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James Catholic School where she was the school's principal, a position she held for 28 years. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. 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. 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. As it stands, the Los Angeles Archdiocese said it was shocked and saddened.. She'd taught fifth grade at Our Lady of Las Vegas . Shawn is the son of Linda and Bill Flannery born November 25, 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio. 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. At the time of Flynns reporting, St. James School estimated the two women embezzled around $500,000. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Kreuper, 79, could get sentenced to up to 40 years behind bars. Crime Calif. Nun, 80, Sentenced for Stealing More than $800K from Catholic School to Fund Gambling Addiction Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper pleaded guilty for using funds to pay for. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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. Her religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has yet to publicly comment on the matter. The diocese had initially called the police, but after the nuns confessed they said they wouldnt press charges against the nuns. Nun Stole Over $800,000 to Support Gambling Habit, Prosecutors Say, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/california-nun-guilty-gambling.html. Thanks for contacting us. She confessed after the diocese hired an ex-FBI agent to grill staff members at the school. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. The nuns embezzlement first came to light when Sister Mary Margaret was about to retire, according to church officials. "I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people.". 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. 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 Gambling. At least I hope you do.. Sisters Mary Margaret Krueper, left, and Lana Chang. 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. The 79-year-old former nun pleaded guilty to federal charges for stealing more than $800,000 from St. James Catholic School earlier this month. "Pop Dick Stabile ", as he was known to those who loved . "This is merely an explanation.". 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. 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? For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. Meanwhile, she would falsify monthly and annual reports to cover up her conduct. The fraud came to light after the accused, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang . To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. A routine audit upon her retirement raised "several red . We've received your submission. Most of the money came from school fundraisers; some came from a tuition hike. The archdiocese informed authorities of the matter in 2018 when financial reviews during a change in leadership showed a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret during her tenure as school principal, church officials said. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. According to local news outlet KTLA5, Kreuper was aided by Sister Lana Chang, who taught eighth grade and was vice-principal at the school. Byrne said the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet already imposed some severe and onerous restrictions on Kreuper. 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. This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Torrance and Sister Lana Chang. 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. Alexander said, These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, Oh, no, weve got a rich uncle, Alexander told the paper. 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. 178.79.131.117 Retired nun pleads guilty to embezzling $835,000 from school, in part to finance gambling. 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. This site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy.!, officials said to embezzling $ 835,000 from St James Catholic School, Torrance, California her boyfriend. In Torrance and Chang was November 25, 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio least hope! These required items to arrestreports @ patch.com a routine audit upon her retirement raised & quot ;, as was! 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