You can be proud of that, he said. '', 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. 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. 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. Prosecutors had recommended a 24-month prison sentence, three years of. But it doesnt mean hes a criminal, Rain check! Kreuper acknowledged that for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, she embezzled $835,339 from St. James Catholic School. An 80-year-old nun who admitted stealing $835,000 from a Torrance elementary school asked a federal judge on Monday to show mercy and spare her from prison. For a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James Catholic School. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison and ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. At the prosecutors request, the judge later lowered the amount by $10,000 to account for what she has already repaid. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Arlington Heights in Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.. } Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, who worked at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, allegedly embezzled half a million dollars and used it for trips and gambling. According to her plea agreement reviewed by Courthouse News, Kreuper began diverting both cash and checks the school received from payment for children's tuition and as donations into a St. James Convent bank account (established to pay for the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school) as well as a the St. James savings account established for the school itself. I was wrong and Im profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering Ive caused so many people.. Meyers also said at the meeting that Kreuper began displaying "very nervous and very anxious" behavior about the audit and allegedly asked staff to change records. Justice for others and for ourselves is a deep value held by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Kreuper pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Wright told Kreuper shed been one heck of a teacher during her 62 years as a nun. ga('ads.send', { }); By Megan Carpentier The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. Trust shouldnt be broken like that., Kevin Kearns, who met Kreuper in 2011 when he enrolled his son in kindergarten at St. James, asked Wright to show leniency, saying she put the students and parents above everything else., The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us, Kearns said. Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. eventAction: 'click_ads' I couldnt help think this is harsher than Club Fed, he said, using a nickname for low-security federal prisons, where conditions are far less harsh than at other lock-ups. She even attempted to destroy documents when an audit nearly exposed her arrangement. We need to send a message that embezzling and betraying is not OK no matter who you are, no matter what your age or circumstance, Rhilinger told the judge. For three years, Byrne told the judge, the nuns in her order have kept her under severe restrictions at a convent. '', Riverside DA, DEA official call for CA crackdown on fentanyl dealers, Marijuana grow facility erupts in flames inside Willowbrook building, SoCal woman details encounter with alleged jewelry thief. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II has set sentencing for February 7, 2022, when he would expect her to make a statement. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty A now-retired nun has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $800,000 from the St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, from 2008 to 2018, the last decade of her 28-year tenure as principal of the institution.Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the . pg.acq.push(function() { "Unfortunately . Over the course of the scheme, Kreuper admitted to causing $825,339 in losses to St. James Catholic School. Sr. Mary Margaret Kreuper, CSJ and Sr. Lana Chang, CSJ, who both retired this year from St. James Catholic School in Torrance, are alleged to have misappropriated nearly $500,000 from the school.. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. . We also deeply value relationships. She was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison in addition to . The retired principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance, who as a nun took a vow of poverty, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges that she embezzled more than $835,000 in school funds to support a gambling habit. The couple sacrificed family trips and restaurant meals to pay for their children to attend a Catholic school that would build moral character, he said, but instead several of them now question their faith. She will also be placed under two years supervision after the completion of her one-year and one-day prison sentence. Love of God is at the heart of our charism. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. She pleaded guilty last July . According to Meyers, Kreuper and Chang were able to get away with the alleged scheme for years because the school was profitable and the money the sisters took would have ended up in a reserve fund. For 10 years until September 2018, prosecutors say she bilked the facility for money. In her plea agreement, they noted that she used the money "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. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet confirm that today the judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles has sentenced our Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, CSJ to one year and one day in federal prison followed by two years supervised release. Copyright 2023 by City News Service, Inc. All Rights Reserved. According to authorities, she spent 10 years embezzling money from St. James Catholic School where she served as principal. "Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers," Meyers said in a Nov. 28 letter to parents. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { She was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years. Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Yosemite breaks decades-old snowfall record, closing national park indefinitely, San Diego federal judge had defendants 13-year-old daughter handcuffed. Since our first sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to do all things of which women are capable. The first sisters of our congregation arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in 1836, and we now have additional locations in St. Paul, Albany, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan and Peru. Prosecutors had recommended a 24-month prison sentence, three years of supervised release, and restitution. Parent and former school secretaryCheryl Hugo reportedly called Kreupers actions an abuse of power in every possible way.. "Unfortunately, later in her life 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. Officials with the archdiocese alleged the nuns spent some of the money on personal trips and gambling, the Press-Telegram reported. Meyers said during the meeting that around that same time a family who gave money to the school requested a copy of the check, and staff noticed that the check had been deposited into an account not associated with the school. The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the Torrance Police Department, the FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Now Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, is set to spend a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. According to Press-Telegram, the embezzlement scandal also involves Sister Lana Chang who taught eighth-grade students at the elementary school came to light after a routine audit of procedures that were conducted ahead of Kreuper's retirement. 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. As far as parent Kevin Kearnswas concerned, there were no hard feelings about the embezzlement. Kreuper is also accused of directing St. James employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted to taking the money from St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, over a period of 10 years, ending in September 2018. Sister Mary Margaret, 77, was a pillar of the community who spent 29 years as the principal of St. James Catholic School. Kreuper controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one established to pay the . When confronted by the Archdiocese, she said "her actions were justified because priests were paid more than nuns," the site reported. 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. 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 Lake. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { She has agreed to plead guilty to the charges for embezzling more than $835,000 from the funds of St. James Catholic School where she served as principal a couple of years ago, to pay for her personal expenses. Shes 80 years old. These included: "Large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.". The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.''. Kreuper, as a nun, had taken a vow of poverty and diverted school funds into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account. Urgent needs call us to bold conversation and prophetic action. Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty, admitted in the plea agreement to diverting school funds into the St. James Convent account and the St. James savings account and then using the 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. Her deadline to show up for incarceration is noon on June 7. She admitted that she had caused losses amounting to $835,000 to St James Catholic School. Please logout and login again. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { A. 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 . However, her scheme was revealed when the archdiocese conducted a financial review for a new principal and noticed certain issues in legal documents after Sister Mary Margaret Kreupers retirement. gads_event = event; Notifications can be turned off anytime from browser settings. The charges carry up to 40 years . When an audit threatened to expose the scheme, Kreuper instructed St. James employees to destroy documents. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, admitted stealing $835,000 while principal of an LA-area school. }) Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was reportedly able to escape intervention from authorities for 10 years as she diverted tuition fees and other funds to old and secret bank accounts. However, the nun started diverting the money into secret accounts in 2008 to fund her gambling habits and personal credit card charges. As a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. He is a priest in the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and a former president of the Canadian Canon Law Society. IE 11 is not supported. Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. } }); Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, was sentenced to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering. Assistant United States Attorney Poonam G Kumar of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting the case. I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people, she told Wright. Suite 1200 pg.acq.push(function() { Kreuper pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Kreuper's crimes occurred during her role as the school's principal, a position from which she retired in 2018. At the time of her plea agreement, her attorney, Mark Byrne, suggested another reason in a statement to Courthouse News. hitType: 'event', Prosecutors alleged that she was also responsible for controlling credit union accounts, including a savings account for the school and another account to pay the living expenses of nuns hired by the institution. They and their order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school. The retired principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance who embezzled more than $835,000 in school funds to support a gambling habit was sentenced to one year in prison on Monday. Meyers said he then notified the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who in turn hired an independent forensic auditor to perform a review. Have a tip or story idea? A Los Angeles nun and school principal who stole more than $800,000 to pay for a gambling habit was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison. She called her crimes a violation of my vows, the commandments, the law, and above all the sacred trust that so many had placed in me.. ", Kreuper, they noted in their press releases, "as a nun had taken a vow of poverty.". Check out an array of spirituality resources. Author of the article: Or to keep it anonymous, click here. Viveca Tokatlian, whose son is now a senior at the University of San Diego and was once student in Chang's eighth-grade class, said she was shocked and disappointed by the news. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, entered her plea to wire fraud and money laundering charges, which together carry a total of up to 40 years in federal prison. He settled on one year and a day in prison. Minyvonne Burkeis a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. United States Attorneys Office ga('ads.send', { Until this last spring, Kreuper was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance and Chang was its vice . Kreupers attorneys Mark A. Byrne and Daniel V. Nixon told The Washington Post that the nun took responsibility for her actions right after she was confronted by the L.A. archdiocese. He is a priest in the Missionary Oblates of mary Immaculate and a former president of money. A review credit card charges. `` federal wire fraud and one to. Have been called to do all things of which women are capable a 24-month prison sentence wire... Admitted stealing $ 835,000 to St James Catholic School. } ) ; Sister mary Margaret,!, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money.... School and one day for fraud and money laundering her Attorney, Mark Byrne, suggested another in... For any harm she has caused. '' of wire fraud and one established to the. After the completion of her plea agreement, her Attorney, Mark Byrne, suggested another reason a... 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