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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Monday to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering charges. Head Nun Caught Stealing Over $800,000 From Catholic Elementary School Where She Worked. 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. Sister Mary Margaret worked at the school for 29 years. 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.. Would love your thoughts, please comment. 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. The nuns embezzlement first came to light when Sister Mary Margaret was about to retire, according to church officials. This snapshot of Mary Margaret Bartock's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. 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. 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. Kreuper and Chang are both members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. 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. More on this story First at 10 on Fox. 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. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. 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. 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. People gamble in a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in this illustrative image. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesSister Mary Kreuper served as the principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, for 28 years. She'd taught fifth grade at Our Lady of Las Vegas . Your IP: A financial review showed a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret, it said. Play Slots for Real Money at Wild Casino Right Now! 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Heres what you need to know: An internal investigation found that over several years, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang used funds set aside for St. James Catholic School. Kreuper stole about $83,000 per year, which is the equivalent of tuition for 14 students, prosecutors argued. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with . Southern California authorities have revealed two nuns allegedly embezzling up to $500K which was parlayed . Many of the letters I cited and many of the people who spoke, talked about wanting something more from their childrens education. As a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. Anyone can read what you share. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to . Kreuper is also accused of directing school employees to alter and destroy financial records while the audit was in process. Everything to Know About the Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult Leader, Everything to Know About 'Real Housewives' Star Jen Shah's Fraud Case, College Admissions Scandal Mastermind Rick Singer Gets 3.5 Years in Prison, Former Playboy Model Gets Prison Time in Slaying of Psychiatrist Found Dead in Her Las Vegas Car Trunk, All About Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's Children and Grandchildren, 'RHOSLC' 's Jen Shah 'Vows to Pay Her Debt' as She's Sentenced to 6.5 Years in Federal Prison for Fraud Scheme, Andy Cohen Reveals What He Found 'Stunning' from Jen Shah Case, Teases 'Excellent' New 'RHOSLC' Casting, 31 Sets of Siblings Who've Competed in the NFL in the Last 10 Years, Jen Shah Skipped 'RHOSLC' Season 3 Reunion After Bravo Asked Her to Discuss Legal Troubles, 'Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street' : The True Story Behind the Netflix Docuseries About Bernie Madoff. 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 Alexander said, These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, Oh, no, weve got a rich uncle, Alexander told the paper. 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. Thanks for contacting us. At the time of Flynns reporting, St. James School estimated the two women embezzled around $500,000. 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. 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. Its unclear what will happen to Chang, or whether shes even involved in any ongoing investigation. 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. Of course! 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. 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. 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. 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. They noted that a lay person in the same situation could expect a lengthy prison sentence. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," Myers added . 178.79.131.117 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. 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. 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. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. By Megan Carpentier The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. She confessed to causing losses to St. James Catholic School totaling $835,339 over the course of the scheme, the statement said. In a statement on Tuesday about Sister Mary Margarets guilty plea, the archdiocese said the revelations had shocked and saddened the community. Thats when they started to notice irregularities in the bookkeeping. Kreuper acknowledged that for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, she embezzled $835,339 from St. James Catholic School. 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. 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. The two Sisters are removed from their residence and placed in a religious house under the supervision of community leadership. 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. Substantial amount of school funds for their personal use.https://t.co/nIiuz3JiDR, Dalton (@DaltonReport) December 1, 2018. But many parents were furious when they discovered the diocese had decided not to press charges against Kreuper because she had shown remorse.. 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. Regardless, dont trust any nun who absolutely crushes Texas Holdem, and read Flynns original story here. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. 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 and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. 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. When Mary Margaret Bartock was born about 1938, her father, Steve, was 39, and her mother, Elizabeth, was 29. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students," he 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. Parents have acknowledged that there were a number of red flags at St. James, but no one wants to assume the worst of nuns. 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. At least I hope you do.. "This is not an excuse for what she did," he said. 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. 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. The first steps with free slots are easy, but once you are ready to switch to real . 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. Seemingly in the clear after that, she used the embezzled cash for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for from Nevada casinos to paying off credit cards. It is believed the nuns used that money to spend on travel and gambling at casinos over the years. At the time, the church and archdiocese said that they would not press criminal charges against either woman. The two embezzling sisters are Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang. 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. 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 nun's decades-old murder. Retired nun pleads guilty to embezzling $835,000 from school, in part to finance gambling. They were able to get away with it because the school was doing so well, financially, that nobody ever missed the money. 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. St. James Catholic SchoolSister Mary Margaret Kreuper embezzled $835,339 in the schools tuition, fees, and charitable donations for her personal expenses. 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. 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. But all the while, they were using school funds to pay for their jaunts. Kreuper was the schools principal for 29 years. Since 1957, GQ has inspired men to look sharper and live smarter with its unparalleled coverage of style, culture, and beyond. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Oh boy, the flying nun really did it this time. 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. Kreuper used the stolen funds for personal expenses like paying off credit cards but primarily to finance her gambling habit at casinos across Nevada. Thanks for contacting us. They were angry that their children had been denied new facilities at the school because of Kreupers transgressions. She also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual financial reports, and to telling school employees to alter and destroy financial records during an audit, the prosecutors statement and court documents said. 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. We've received your submission. 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 . 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. ", 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. He said some former St. James Catholic School students even wrote letters to the judge in support of their former teacher and principal. Sister Lana taught there for 20 years. pic.twitter.com/Gcbn0WRky5, Karen Devine (@KarenDevineKESQ) December 11, 2018. Two nuns from California stole funds from the Catholic school they were at and spent in on vacations and gambling. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. "The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us," Kearns said. "Pop Dick Stabile ", as he was known to those who loved . 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. Ultimately Kreuper admitted to stealing over $835,000. 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. 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. As principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, she certainly did but while also embezzling more than $835,000 in funds to support her secretive gambling habit. "I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people.". 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. And one day for fraud and money laundering charges was about to retire according... 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