They say she also instructed employees at the school to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit, investigators found. The nuns order says the woman are cooperating and intend to pay all of the money back in full. "I wanted to face them. Now, nearly three years later, she faces up to 40 years in prison and will appear in the Federal District Court in Los Angeles on July 1. 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. The schools denied that Morrissey-Berru and Biel were fired for discriminatory reasons. BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. "She doesn't have anywhere to go," he said. Her husband said that in her final days, the couple talked extensively about the case. Each time, Kreuper had the same response to the community, according to the Times: How do you expect to pay for it? All the while, Kreuper spoke openly about her gambling trips, saying her vice principals wealthy relatives funded the casino excursions to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe, prosecutors say. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper A curated collection of links The Record What are records? She doesn't have any money. This large chunk of stolen money came as the St. James Catholic School was operating under tight budgets with small concerns that the finances could not continue to keep the door open. Kreuper also admitted to falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration in an effort to cover up the embezzlement. Shes very, very remorseful and very ashamed, he said. At least I hope you do.. 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. The purpose is to protect leaders of the faith, and their religions, from interference by the government. These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, Oh no, weve got a rich uncle, parent Jack Alexander said. 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 defraudingSt. James Catholic Schoolover a period of 10 years. She would endorse the checks with a stamp saying St. znscr.parentNode.insertBefore(zergnet, znscr); The Rev. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty as a nun, worked as a principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years and allegedly embezzled the funds for 10 years until her retirement in 2018. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. In a statement to The Washington Post, Kreupers lawyers said she is very remorseful and sorry for any harm she has caused. Starting in 2008, Kreuper diverted school funds to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, prosecutors say. St.James Catholic School caught embezzling $500K for personal use, including gambling as church declines to press charges. 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.". "She's 80. Maybe if she had used her poker face to see more success in Vegas, she wouldnt have been in this position to begin with. Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the embezzled funds to pay for personal expenses, including her gambling habit. We use cookies to better understand website visitors, for advertising, and to offer you a better experience. Kreuper was in charge of the schools credit union account, where she was meant to deposit cash and checks from tuition, fees and donations. Court documents show that she also oversaw the St. James Convent Account, a savings account that funded the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school. A NUN is set to plead guilty to embezzling more than $830,000 from the Catholic elementary school she ran to bankroll her gambling habit, prosecutors say. Told one parent, We were an ATM, and people know it and they wont ask for justice., The embezzlement and the churchs seeming reluctance to act has led to some locals saying the scandal underscores a failure of church leadership- while also noting that only a police investigation can be trusted.. This is because, as part of the plea deal, the prosecutors have agreed to recommend to the court an "offense level" of 25 for Kreuper's crimes, and will further advise the court to reduce that to 23, or even 22. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering after she admitted to investigators that she embezzled hundreds of thousands of. Kreuper has agreed to plead guilty to the charges in a deal with prosecutors, the US Attorney's Office of California said in a statement. Julija Garunkstis, a St. James mother who attended the school between 2005 and 2014, said Kreuper had shaken her faith. Trust shouldnt be broken like that., Others, such as Kevin Kearns, whose son had gone to the school, said the nun had put the students and parents above everything else., The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us, Kearns said. Though he acknowledges that the teachers taught religion from a workbook about three hours a week, Fisher says these teachers were "primarily lay employees" teaching "secular subjects. But Fisher counters that function can't be the only criterion because many employers at religiously affiliated institutions sincerely believe that all of their employees perform important ministerial functions, from nurses who care for the sick, to summer camp counselors for troubled teenagers, and athletic coaches who mold the character of their charges and often lead them in prayer. "https:" : "http:") + '//www.zergnet.com/zerg.js?id=47402'; Kreuper admitted embezzling about $835,000 (616,000) in donations, tuition and fee money between 2008 and 2018. Her husband, Darryl Biel, remembers that day vividly. The now-retired nun (I didnt know nuns could retire) admitted to stealing about $835,000 in donations, tuition and fees. 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. I don't drink coffee, I wake up jacked. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students.. She admitted to taking a total of $835,000 in donations from the elementary school, and faces up to 40 years in federal prison. The sisters, described as best friends, both retired earlier this year. 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 . 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 wrote in a letter to parents on Nov. 28. Its an explanation.. The school soon had a change of heart following pushback. The second suit was brought by Kristen Biel against St. James School in Torrance. 2022 Blaze Media LLC. She must give up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community. All rights reserved. Police will still present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, NBC reported. 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 poverty. Meyers reported it to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who hired their own auditor. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. During his sentencing, Wright, a 2007 appointee under President George W. Bush, praised Kreuper for her tenure as one heck of a teacher at the school. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. When staff members finally found the check, they realized that it was not deposited in a St. James account, but a different bank account. He had planned to be in Washington for Monday's argument. When the fraudulent behavior first came to light, the order was deeply disappointed and offered to repay the lost funds only believed to be $500,000 at the time. 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. I was wrong, and Im profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering Ive caused so many people., Despite her vow of poverty, nun stole more than $835,000 from a Catholic school, prosecutors said. Asking for the nun to be spared from prison, her lawyer Mark Byrne told the court she has been kept under "severe restrictions" at a convent by the nuns in her order. Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana were both Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. James School.. Investigators determined the money went to accounts the school didnt know about, Kumar said. 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. According to prosecutors, Kreuper had stolen whats estimated to have been the tuition for 14 students at the K-8 school in funds that were intended to further the students education, not fund [Kreupers] lifestyle., When confronted, the defendant admitted to stealing the money, Kumar said. A spokesperson for the order confirmed for Snopes that, as of June 9, 2021, Kreuper was still a member of the Los Angeles congregation, but the restrictions against her remained in place, and she was no longer involved in any public ministry. A federal appeals court ruled against the schools, which appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Monday's case, however, does not involve trained and ordained ministers of the faith. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips, we do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account, Marge Graf, an attorney representing St. James, told a group of parents at a meeting in 2018. Claiming mental illness at her age is a play for probation or the ability to serve her sentence at home. Pic: St James Catholic School. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who worked as the school principal for 28 years, and Sister Lana Chang, a teacher at the school for 20 years, reportedly bilked the funds over a period of at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported. They and their Order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school. (Shutterstock) LOS ANGELES, CA The retired principal of a Catholic . Prosecutors said that she had also instructed school employees to alter and destroy financial records. She became principal at St. James Catholic School, about 20 miles outside downtown Los Angeles, in 1990. She claimed that she was fired after she told her superior, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. 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(deployads = window.deployads || []).push({}); (function() { 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. St. James teacher Lana Chang admitted along with Kreuper to the embezzlement in 2018, following each of their retirements earlier that year. It turns out that at the time Kristen Biel learned she had breast cancer, Kreuper, the school principal who fired her, was embezzling large amounts of money to go on gambling sprees in Las Vegas. Poonam Kumar, the assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California who prosecuted the case, told The Washington Post that Kreuper had diverted checks and cash from St. James parents into a long-overlooked church account to pay for large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit-card charges. The actions were done before the money could be accounted for, displaying repetitive and deceptive behavior, over and over again, the prosecutor said. His findings unraveled the entire scheme and, eventually, federal charges were levied against Sister Mary Margaret. 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. But as the archdiocese was completing its audit, it noticed something was off with the funding. His wife, he said, drove into their driveway "in tears bawling hysterically. 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). Kumar said the nuns instruction to the auditors sparked suspicion, and they reported the incident to Msgr. 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