Of course, none of her control legitimately extended to using school funds for large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges, but that is what Kreuper did. As part of her role as the head of the institution, Kreuper oversaw all funds the school received for tuition fees and charitable donations. Her deadline to show up for incarceration is noon on June 7. Today, we commit to respond boldly to injustice and dare to be prophetic. The now-retired nun, Mary Margaret Kreuper,. Online prison records do not yet show Kreuper in federal custody. After reviewing all the letters, Wright said, it appeared most families had forgiven Kreuper. 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 for stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on Tuesday and has agreed to a plea deal for allegedly embezzling $835,000 while she was the. Her plea agreement from June 8 with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said the 79-year-old had diverted funds into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Unfortunately, later in her life she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgement and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done. They declined to go into further detail about any illness their client may have been diagnosed with, according to a report by Daily Breeze. Prosecutors had recommended a 24-month prison sentence, three years of. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the retired principal of St. James Catholic School in California, has been sentenced to one year and a day in prison on charges of money laundering and federal wire. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), 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. The church was made aware of the scheme around June when it began a routine audit in response to Kreupers retiring. Kreuper has paid back $10,000 of what she owes, according to The Long Beach Press-Telegram. Documents state, Kreuper lulled St. James School and the Administration into believing that the schools finances were being properly accounted for and its financial assets properly safeguarded, which, in turn, allowed defendant Kreuper to maintain her access and control of the schools finances and accounts and, thus, continue operating the fraudulent scheme.. She was sentenced to prison on Monday, February 7, 2022, for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school funds. Nuns should realize that just by living their lives and living the way they do and treating people the way they do, they affect children for the rest of their lives, said Wright, who fell silent and covered his face in his hands for a long pause during his pronouncement of the sentence. Parent and former school secretaryCheryl Hugo reportedly called Kreupers actions an abuse of power in every possible way.. [emailprotected]. She became a nun when she was 18 years old, and for the next 59 years she dedicated her life to helping others and educating children in archdiocesan schools, Kreupers attorneys wrote. Chang and Kreuper's scheme was exposed after an internal auditor confirmed the church's suspicions. We pray that in time those impacted will find healing and the seeds of forgiveness. However, the nun started diverting the money into secret accounts in 2008 to fund her gambling habits and personal credit card charges. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Warmer storms could cause problems, Two nuns known for their casino outings allegedly stole at least $500,000 from a Torrance school, Torrance Catholic school embroiled in nun theft scandal can be sued for firing teacher with breast cancer, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, Im visiting all 600 L.A. spots on the National Register. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('impressionViewable', function(event) { We seek to build communities and bridge divides between people. Central District of California (Los Angeles) In private letters to Wright and remarks at the video hearing, some former St. James students asked him to put the nun behind bars. The 79-year-old Los Angeles resident was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. We seek to build communities and bridge divides between people. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. 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 for. A nun is pictured at Vatican's Gregorian University. 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 Tahoe. According to authorities, she spent 10 years embezzling money from St. James Catholic School where she served as principal. Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. These also include her gambling trips, revealed federal prosecutors. ", She also admitted in the plea agreement to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school's administration to cover up the fraudulent conduct and "lulled 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, in turn, allowed defendant Kreuper to maintain her access and control of the school's finances and accounts and, thus, continue operating the fraudulent scheme.". Mary Margaret Kreuper was so close to getting away with it. }); The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. Official websites use .gov . 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. Until this last spring, Kreuper was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance and Chang was its vice . 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 Vegas . Author of the article: Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged today with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. }); Minyvonne Burkeis a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. Officials said Kreuper and Chang used a large portion of the stolen funds for "personal gains" and "recycled" some of it back into the school, the Press-Telegram reported. "Unfortunately . Prosecutors filed federal wire fraud and money laundering charges against Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, for stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips, the Justice Department said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, was sentenced to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering. ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov But this week, prosecutors said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, had agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than $835,000. She was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison in addition to . 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. Be the first one to comment on this story. For three years, Byrne told the judge, the nuns in her order have kept her under severe restrictions at a convent. SisterMary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced on Monday to 12 months and one day in federal prison byU.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II and ordered to pay$825,338 in restitution to theSt. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, according to a press release from theU.S. Attorneys Office in the Central District of California. Kreuper pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and . 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. A lock ( }) We do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account," an attorney told the crowd at the meeting. },false) Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of the Arlington Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who also ordered her to pay $825,338 in restitution. In court papers it was . Assistant United States Attorney Poonam G. Kumar of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! She will appear for an arraignment at the United States District Court on July 1. I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the former principal of St. James Catholic School, told the judge. In the plea agreement, she admitted to having used 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. Kreuper also admitted that she falsified monthly and annual reports to the school administration to cover up her fraudulent conduct. Ive broken the law and I have no excuses. ga('ads.send', { 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. We are one of the worlds fastest growing Kreuper, who retired in 2018 after 28 years as the schools principal, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and money laundering, confessing that she stole tuition checks, spent much of the money on casino outings with friends and tried to cover up the embezzlement. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. "I don't look at nuns as ordinary people," he said, according to FOX 6. 312 North Spring Street 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. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, acknowledged that Kreuper abused her trust, but called on Wright to sentence her to probation. if(document.querySelector("#adunit")){ } Kreuper also falsified the school's monthly and yearly financial reports to hide her embezzlement and, when questioned by parents about the school's resources, told them "there was no money for an awning at school and no money for field trips," prosecutors said. Lock Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. 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