"This is not an excuse for what she did," he said. 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. Photo: Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Jen Shah Reports to Prison to Start Her 6.5-Year Sentence for Telemarketing Fraud Scheme, Jen Shah Gets a Meaningful Tattoo Dedicated to Her Family Before Reporting for Prison, The True Story Behind Hulu's 'Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence', Cold Cases Heat Up: How Advances in DNA Technology Are Helping to Bring Justice for Victims, Jen Shah's'RHOSLC' Costars Claim She Asked Them for Money to Pay Legal Fees amid Court Battle, Who Is Larry Ray? That order has also paid for Kreupers living expenses for multiple decades. Kreuper stole about $83,000 per year, which is the equivalent of tuition for 14 students, prosecutors argued. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". 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. 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 nun was in charge of overseeing tuition money, fees the school received and charitable donations, prosecutors said. The fraud came to light after the accused, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang . Ad Choices, That Lying, Gambling, Embezzling Nun Pleads Guilty. We've received your submission. She'd taught fifth grade at Our Lady of Las Vegas . 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. 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. 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. Before Kreuper was sentenced, parents of children attending St. James and former students sent letters about Kreuper's role at the school and the impact of her actions. 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. We continue to offer our prayers for all impacted by this matter.. 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). Parents have acknowledged that there were a number of red flags at St. James, but no one wants to assume the worst of nuns. The statement also condemned the embezzlement, saying, we will not defend the actions of our Sisters. We were an ATM, and people know it and they wont ask for justice, Jack Alexander, a father at the school, said. Regardless, dont trust any nun who absolutely crushes Texas Holdem, and read Flynns original story here. Los Angeles Archdiocese of Los Angeles Gambling nuns nuns Las Vegas Saint James Catholic School . Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to . 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Your email address will not be published. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". He was unhappy with the churchs decision not to prosecute. 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. Parents told The Daily Breeze in December 2018 they were not prepared to absolve Kreuper of her sins. We've received your submission. At OUSC you will find the most trusted sites to play with cash and the best real money games. 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. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral fortitude and that they were very hard on kids who slipped up and broke the rules. But instead of managing the money as the school intended, Kreuper reportedly forged monthly and annual financial statements for the school as well as ordered multiple employees to falsify or destroy records in the midst of an audit. 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. All rights reserved. Kreuper and Chang are both members of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. 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. 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. As principal, Kreuper was responsible for the money the school garnered in tuition, fees, and charitable donations. 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. 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. Casino.org is the worlds leading independent online gaming authority, providing trusted online casino 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. According to The New York Times, the 79-year-old retired nun was just recently charged with wire fraud and money laundering. At least I hope you do.. 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 Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. 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. . 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. Kreuper is also accused of directing school employees to alter and destroy financial records while the audit was in process. ", 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.". Kreuper has admitted she took the money and expressed remorse. 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 was running the school that these parents had chosen to send their children [to], and not just for the academics. Thanks for contacting us. 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. But not all the parishioners were as understanding. 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. 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.. Two longtime nuns at St. James Catholic School in Torrance allegedly embezzled as much as $500,000 in tuition, fees and donations. Thanks for contacting us. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. 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. Officials in the archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents that they had proof that a Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from the St James Catholic School in Torrance. 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. 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. Scott Varley/Torrance Daily Breeze, via Getty Images. 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. Two nuns from California stole funds from the Catholic school they were at and spent in on vacations and gambling. 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. Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with . 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. For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. Police have been informed but the Archdiocese does not intend to pursue criminal proceedings against the sisters. Nun Stole Over $800,000 to Support Gambling Habit, Prosecutors Say, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/california-nun-guilty-gambling.html. 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. 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. Principal, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and teacher Sister Lana Chang. 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. Margaret Mary Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were accused of embezzling tuition, fees, and donations made in favor of St. James Catholic School to fund their gambling trips (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) Kreuper is also accused of directing St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. 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. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. A financial review showed a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret, it 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. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". "Pop Dick Stabile ", as he was known to those who loved . 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. Until this last spring, Kreuper was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance and Chang was. It is believed the nuns used that money to spend on travel and gambling at casinos over the years. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. But the Catholic church is glad to have a scandal that doesn't involve boy-rape, so they've got that going for them. 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 Lana taught there for 20 years. Play Slots for Real Money at Wild Casino Right Now! 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. And wasnt it even weirder that she was going to Vegas all the time? 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. 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. 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 a press release from the US Attorneys Office in the Central District of California. Click to reveal 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. 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. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. But many parents were furious when they discovered the diocese had decided not to press charges against Kreuper because she had shown remorse.. Kreuper, who apologized to the community during Mondays sentencing, also made a Hail Mary plea to the judge for leniency. 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. As it stands, the Los Angeles Archdiocese said it was shocked and saddened.. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral fortitude . The two nuns. 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. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories. 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. But Sister Mary said that she was extremely remorseful and humbled. Last updated on: February 7, 2022, 08:42h. 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