In total, it is believed she stole $835,339 at least that authorities are currently aware of. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," Myers added . A great part of her early education came from her mother, who consulted the Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives for advice and commissioned him to write De Institutione Feminae Christianae, a treatise on the . Sisters Mary Margaret Krueper, left, and Lana Chang. 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 The disgraced nun stole hundreds of thousands of . So shes basically under house arrest, which she accepts.. They are also removed from all public ministry., Sisters Mary Margaret Krueper & Lana Chang: 5 Fast Facts, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Officials said the sisters were in charge of collecting checks and depositing them into the schools account. 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. 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. But not all the parishioners were as understanding. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students," he said. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Shawn Christopher Flannery, age 50 of Batesville, passed away January 28, 2023 at Margaret Mary Health after a long battle with cancer. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who worked as the school principal for 28 years, and Sister Lana Chang, confessed to embezzling at least $500,000 from the Catholic school so that they could gamble . Church officials expressed willingness to forgive the two sisters for embezzling half a million dollars from the church. When Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was 18 years old, she vowed to dedicate her life to the education of children and helping those in need. Kreuper used the stolen funds for personal expenses like paying off credit cards but primarily to finance her gambling habit at casinos across Nevada. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who was principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used the school funds to . Sister Mary Margarets lawyers, Mark A. Byrne and Daniel V. Nixon, said she was very remorseful., 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, they said in a statement. The nuns apparently told everyone that a rich uncle was paying for their trips. Ad Choices, That Lying, Gambling, Embezzling Nun Pleads Guilty. 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. And I don't look at nuns as ordinary people. . 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. "Pop Dick Stabile ", as he was known to those who loved . 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. Her religious order, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, which according to court documents was paying for her living expenses, said in a statement on Wednesday that it would not comment until the legal process was completed. Monsignor Micheal Meyers, the pastor at St. James Catholic Church sent a letter to pupils' parents stating that Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, the nuns' order, is cooperating with the parish and the Archdiocese to find out how much money was taken. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. Sister Lana Chang worked alongside Sister Kreuper for 20 years, at least 10 of which they spent embezzling the schools money together. Parents said the two nuns were big on moral fortitude . The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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. pic.twitter.com/Gcbn0WRky5, Karen Devine (@KarenDevineKESQ) December 11, 2018. 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. 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.. 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). 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. Anyone can read what you share. She diverted school funds into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account, which were used "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 Department of Justice stated. A subsequent financial review found that a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret, with the Torrance Police Department expanding its investigation into the matter in December 2018. Besides, both the nuns in question were in positions of trust. She currently faces up to 40 years in federal prison with a court date set for July 1. Sister Mary Margaret worked at the school for 29 years. 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. 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. To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com. "I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses," Kreuper told U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II, Los Angeles Times reported. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. "The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School," the Daily Breeze reported. 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. 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. 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. Many of the letters I cited and many of the people who spoke, talked about wanting something more from their childrens education. Let the family know you are thinking of them. But many parents were furious when they discovered the diocese had decided not to press charges against Kreuper because she had shown remorse.. Byrne said the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet already imposed some severe and onerous restrictions on Kreuper. 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. 'I have sinned': 80-year-old gambling nun jailed after blaming gender pay gap for stealing $800,000 from kids Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper said she stole tuition checks and donations in. Assistant US Attorney Poonam Kumar told The Post that the wayward nun took frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Temecula and other locations throughout Southern California. Thanks for contacting us. Sister Mary Margaret Gambling. 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. This was really an abuse of position of trust, right, Kumar said. At least I hope you do.. Kreuper, who used funds to pay for trips to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Temecula, says she will use the rest of her days trying to make amends. Police have been informed but the Archdiocese does not intend to pursue criminal proceedings against the sisters. Shawn is the son of Linda and Bill Flannery born November 25, 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio. "This is merely an explanation.". What happened is wrong. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. 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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. 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. Prosecutor said she also admitted to falsifying the schools financial records. A. It is believed the nuns used that money to spend on travel and gambling at casinos over the years. When an audit threatened to expose the scheme, Kreuper instructed St. James employees to destroy documents, according to prosecutors. The diocese had initially called the police, but after the nuns confessed they said they wouldnt press charges against the nuns. The two nuns. 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. He was unhappy with the churchs decision not to prosecute. Powered by. "I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people.". Kreuper's attorney Mark Byrne explained that his client, who retired in 2018, has been under strict supervision at her convent. 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. Nuns joining Kreupers, order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, take vows of poverty when they are called to their vocation. They were angry that their children had been denied new facilities at the school because of Kreupers transgressions. More on this story First at 10 on Fox. Two longtime nuns at St. James Catholic School in Torrance allegedly embezzled as much as $500,000 in tuition, fees and donations. "I apologize for the public scandal, the embarrassment and the financial burden that I have placed on the sisters in my religious community, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, St. James School, the parishioners, parents and students who placed their trust in me," she said. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. People gamble in a casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in this illustrative image. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. 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. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. 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. Archdiocese lawyer Marge Graf said the nuns' order agreed to pay the school full restitution and impose "severe sanctions" on Kreuper and Chang. The nuns embezzlement first came to light when Sister Mary Margaret was about to retire, according to church officials. By Megan Carpentier The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. 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. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesSister Mary Kreuper served as the principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, for 28 years. 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. 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. 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. Your IP: For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. Wasnt it weird that she and her friends won every single raffle. 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 rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. 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). 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. They added that 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., They said Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she was 18, and for the next 59 years she dedicated her life to helping others and educating children in Archdiocesan schools.. As principal -- a position she had for nearly 30 years before she retired -- Kreuper was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees, as well as for charitable donations, according to documents filed in Los Angeles federal court. She also controlled the schools credit union accounts, which she used to divert other funds into that she would then use for the spending, according to prosecutors. 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