Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, months after she admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from St. James Catholic School in Torrance . She then used some of the funds to pay for "large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges.. Five of the nine justices hearing Monday's case attended Catholic secondary schools, and several of them have sent their children to parochial schools as well. Cyclist falls to her death after drawbridge opens while shes on it, Trump tells Joe Rogan to stop apologizing for Spotify controversies, Frozen out of GoFundMe, Canadian protest convoy raises millions on Christian sit. 5 Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering Credit: KCAL 9 5 })(); Adriana Kuch attackers identified on social media in planned attack, St Louis execution shooting of homeless man: arrest made, Karen calls cops on black men shovelling snow for free outsider her home, Idaho murder suspect had multiple photos of female victim on phone, Torrance Catholic school nuns steal $500K for gambling habit- church resists charges. James Convent instead of St. Many parents were outraged with the initial decision not to press charges, with some remarking that if the nuns were lay people, they would certainly be in jail according to the presstelegram. Investigators determined the money went to accounts the school didnt know about, Kumar said. The nun took frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas and holidays to Lake Tahoe and other locations in southern California, according to Poonam Kumar, the assistant US attorney. var zergnet = document.createElement('script'); 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. The DOJ noted that Kreuper had diverted the school funds to pay for expenses that the order [of nuns] would not have approved. Among the expenses Kreuper accrued were those from casinos and credit card charges. Starting in 2008, Kreuper diverted school funds to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, prosecutors say. 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. You can be proud of that, he said. Well, Sister Mary Margaret didnt quite stay true to her vow. Jaclyn Peiser contributed to this report. Mr Kumar said that jealousy played a part, calling the episode "really an abuse of position of trust". Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper used tuition fees and donations to a California Catholic school to subsidize her casino expenses. 66 is still a fairly competent age. By Megan Carpentier. She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. After much public outcry to pursue legal action, the archdiocese hired a former FBI agent to investigate the two nuns. In doing so, she agreed to plead guilty to: The money laundering charge relates to an episode in 2017, in which Kreuper improperly deposited checks from parents of pupils at the school into a convent bank account, rather than the school's bank account, then later used the convent account to write a $6,000 check to another unnamed person who subsequently cashed the check and gave Kreuper $6,000 in cash "so she could gamble in Nevada.". The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students., The school monsignor has since sent out a letter in which the nuns asked that i convey to you the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers.. Along with her sentence, she was ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, a former principal at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used tuition fees and donations to subsidize casino gambling expenses and credit card. For decades, lower courts have recognized an exception to the nation's employment laws for ministers. 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). Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on Tuesday for defrauding St. James Catholic School over a period of 10 years. 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. Associate Editor at BroBible covering all five major sports and every niche sport imaginable, found primarily in the college space. The second suit was brought by Kristen Biel against St. James School in Torrance. It wasnt until the house of cards came crashing down that she realized what she had done and started to go therapy, where she realized this addiction was a contributing factor. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. Kreuper, who took vows of poverty at age 18 and spent 59 years in the religious order, said in her plea agreement that she had begun diverting money from the schools tuition and donation account to a savings account that funded the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school and then used some of the money herself. A spokesperson with St. James did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Kreuper also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration in an effort to cover up the embezzlement. Kreuper as the school's principal, handled all tuition payments, with the sister depositing checks into a separate . (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . One article quoted a church accountant as ball-parking the amount at $500,000. 2022 Blaze Media LLC. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79,of Los Angeles, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, She defrauded St. James Catholic Schoolover a period of 10 years, As principal, Kreuper had been in charge of the school's credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations, Also implicated in the scheme was Lana Chang, who worked as a teacher at St. James before becoming vice principal, Nun, 79, STOLE $835,000 from Catholic school over 10 years to fund her gambling trips, Teenage boy shot friend, 15, in face with his grandad's shotgun after 'being repeatedly humiliated and bullied by him', Apple pie could be CANCELED after writer links treat to genocide and cultural appropriation, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have 'done nothing but seek publicity' since leaving UK, former Palace aide claims, Woman, 21, records terrifying moment Uber driver relentlessly pesters her for sex despite her telling him 'no', Inside Bidens 30million G7 ring of steel with warships, The Beast & 400 Secret Service agents watching his every move, Murder probe scuppered after alligator makes off with dead body found floating in river, JBSA Lackland put on lockdown after shooting outside Air Force base in San Antonio. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. While claiming to live financially destitute like Jesus Christ is probably blasphemous, using the old Im poor, but my uncle is rich line and getting away with it speaks to Sister Mary Margarets impressive poker face. Police will still present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, NBC reported. His . Were those functions to be considered ministerial, Fisher says, the results would be dire. Other parents remarked it was well-known that Kreuper and Chang traveled often and went gambling, with the two women claiming they were gifted the trips by a rich relative. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. "Far from it. It involves two fifth-grade teachers at Catholic schools in California. Nun who stole $835K from school to fund gambling habit is going to prison: I have sinned, Carolyn Hax: Boyfriends visits leave single mom with no time for herself, Miss Manners: What to do when a fellow diner was rude to server. However, around the same time, a family at the school asked for an old check they had written to St. James. She also controlled two savings accounts, one for the school and one for the nuns living expenses. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. For years, St. James parents were told that the school was cash-strapped and unable to upgrade textbooks that were 20 years old, fund field trips or simply install an awning for the outdoor lunch area. As headteacher at St James Catholic School, which she ran for 28 years, she "controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one established to pay the living expenses of the nuns employed by the school", prosecutors said. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. When this was going on, she was not nearly as old. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral. 15 Episodes of Seinfeld That Teach Everything You Need To Know About Life. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Earlier in June, the former principal of St. James School was charged with wire fraud and money laundering. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to . Her embezzlement activities took place from about 2008-2018. 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