The fraud came to light after the accused, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang . Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with her friend and housemate, Sister Lana Chang. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Gambling. When an audit threatened to expose the scheme, Kreuper instructed St. James employees to destroy documents, according to prosecutors. And wasnt it even weirder that she was going to Vegas all the time? "This is merely an explanation.". She broke the law, she has no excuses for it and she took full responsibility.. "The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School," the Daily Breeze reported. 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. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. The statement also condemned the embezzlement, saying, we will not defend the actions of our Sisters. But many parents were furious when they discovered the diocese had decided not to press charges against Kreuper because she had shown remorse.. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. Prosecutors said Kreuper, who was the schools principal for 28 years, diverted funds to pay for expenses that her order the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet would never have approved, including large gambling expenses from casino trips and credit card charges she made from 2008 to September 2018. 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. Sister Mary Margaret retired in June after 28 years as principal of the K-8 school, which serves students from Torrance and Redondo Beach. 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Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. They were able to get away with it because the school was doing so well, financially, that nobody ever missed the money. Its unclear what will happen to Chang, or whether shes even involved in any ongoing investigation. She served as the schools principal for 29 years. 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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 . 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 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.". Sister Lana Chang worked alongside Sister Kreuper for 20 years, at least 10 of which they spent embezzling the schools money together. CA: 2 Nuns Accused of Stealing Substantial Amount of Money From South Bay Catholic School. Some parents said they planned to go to the police as a complaining party. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. At least I hope you do.. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Kreuper claimed she had a rich uncle who paid for the trips. Church officials expressed willingness to forgive the two sisters for embezzling half a million dollars from the church. As principal, Kreuper was responsible for the money the school garnered in tuition, fees, and charitable donations. Playing at online casino for real money can be a thrilling experience! She was running the school that these parents had chosen to send their children [to], and not just for the academics. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral fortitude . To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. Her religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has yet to publicly comment on the matter. Gambling Nun Who Embezzled $800,000+ of School Funds Gets Off Lightly With 366-Day Jail Sentence Judge Wright II sentenced Kreuper to one year and a day in a federal prison She must also pay $825,338.57 in restitution for the money she embezzled Kreuper admitted using the school funds to pay for "large gambling expenses" In California, a septuagenarian nun faces up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges. Wasnt it weird that she and her friends won every single raffle. 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. At the time of Flynns reporting, St. James School estimated the two women embezzled around $500,000. 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. Nun Stole Over $800,000 to Support Gambling Habit, Prosecutors Say, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/california-nun-guilty-gambling.html. Two longtime nuns at St. James Catholic School in Torrance allegedly embezzled as much as $500,000 in tuition, fees and donations. 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. 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Casino.org is the worlds leading independent online gaming authority, providing trusted online casino 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, who apologized to the community during Mondays sentencing, also made a Hail Mary plea to the judge for leniency. She will be under two years supervision when she is released, Kumar said. Kreuper's attorney Mark Byrne explained that his client, who retired in 2018, has been under strict supervision at her convent. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Pace University and a master's degree from New York University. 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