Last updated on: February 7, 2022, 08:42h. Kumar said Kreuper was able to dodge detection for so many years because she would divert tuition checks and other funds to two old bank accounts that other school administrators were not aware were still being used. The lawyers added that she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and is very remorseful.. One man, whose children attend St James, grumbled that the nuns had been using the school as if it was their own private ATM. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. 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. The diocese had initially called the police, but after the nuns confessed they said they wouldnt press charges against the nuns. "The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School," the Daily Breeze reported. She will be under two years supervision when she is released, Kumar said. Margaret Mary Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were accused of embezzling tuition, fees, and donations made in favor of St. James Catholic School to fund their gambling trips (Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet) Kreuper is also accused of directing St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. Shawn is the son of Linda and Bill Flannery born November 25, 1972 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She confessed after the diocese hired an ex-FBI agent to grill staff members at the school. We've received your submission. Despite taking a vow of poverty, an 80-year-old nun was sentenced on Monday for stealing more than $800,000 to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips. But the Catholic church is glad to have a scandal that doesn't involve boy-rape, so they've got that going for them. 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. Let the family know you are thinking of them. Scott Varley/Torrance Daily Breeze, via Getty Images. Kreuper is the schools former principal. 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The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students," he said. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, and in a plea agreement pleaded guilty to both charges, the Associated Press reported. We were an ATM, and people know it and they wont ask for justice, Jack Alexander, a father at the school, said. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, who took a vow of poverty, begged a judge to show her mercy and spare her prison, saying: "I have sinned, I've broken the law and I have no excuses." Kreuper admitted embezzling about $835,000 (616,000) in donations, tuition and fee money between . This snapshot of Mary Margaret Bartock's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. 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. The rest, they were depositing into a separate account and using for their own purposes. 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). Mary was a precocious child. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. 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. 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. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion, Armed Woman Who Held Up Vegas Casino Tracked by Cops, Nuns' Tour Against Trump Tax Law to End at Mar-a-Lago. She was rumbled in June 2018, just as she was about to retire after 28 years as principal, when an internal audit blew the lid off the racket. Wasnt it weird that she and her friends won every single raffle. Crime & Safety Gambling Nun's Bad 'Habit' Catches Up To Her Catholic school principal Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced to prison for embezzling from the school to feed a gambling habit. This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Torrance and Sister Lana Chang. But in fact, the sisters were only depositing some of the checks that came in. Most of the money came from school fundraisers; some came from a tuition hike. Crime Calif. Nun, 80, Sentenced for Stealing More than $800K from Catholic School to Fund Gambling Addiction Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper pleaded guilty for using funds to pay for. Parents have acknowledged that there were a number of red flags at St. James, but no one wants to assume the worst of nuns. It remains unclear which years specifically she embezzled funds from the school during her 28-year tenure there, though she did admit to doing so for over a decade. 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. Many of the letters I cited and many of the people who spoke, talked about wanting something more from their childrens education. 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. The nuns apparently told everyone that a rich uncle was paying for their trips. 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. In addition to stealing $835,339, she falsified monthly and annual reports, and instructed employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. Kreuper stole about $83,000 per year, which is the equivalent of tuition for 14 students, prosecutors argued. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. Head Nun Caught Stealing Over $800,000 From Catholic Elementary School Where She Worked. Shawn graduated from Batesville High School in 1991 before attending Ball State University and receiving his BS from . Your email address will not be published. Eventually, a forensic accountant discovered that there was a half-million dollars missing from the schools accounts. Thats when they started to notice irregularities in the bookkeeping. According to The New York Times, the 79-year-old retired nun was just recently charged with wire fraud and money laundering. 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 . "Pop Dick Stabile ", as he was known to those who loved . 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. But instead of managing the money as the school intended, Kreuper reportedly forged monthly and annual financial statements for the school as well as ordered multiple employees to falsify or destroy records in the midst of an audit. The nun was in charge of overseeing tuition money, fees the school received and charitable donations, prosecutors said. Byrne said the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet already imposed some severe and onerous restrictions on Kreuper. Kreuper had retired as the school's principal earlier this year and she dealt with the school fees, which she allegedly withheld and deposited into an account only she and Chang knew about, the paper said. But not all the parishioners were as understanding. The fraud came to light after the accused, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang . St. James Catholic SchoolSister Mary Margaret Kreuper embezzled $835,339 in the schools tuition, fees, and charitable donations for her personal expenses. 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. Some of them said they couldnt understand why the school had been operating on shoestring budget while Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana had been going on gambling sprees. 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. . In total, it is believed she stole $835,339 at least that authorities are currently aware of. As soon as she was confronted, she accepted full responsibility for what she had done and she has cooperated fully with law enforcement and the Archdiocese. Thanks for contacting us. Police have been informed but the Archdiocese does not intend to pursue criminal proceedings against the sisters. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Police said they were still carrying out their own investigation. 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. More on this story First at 10 on Fox. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, will plead guilty to fraud and money laundering and faces up to 40 years in prison, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. He said some former St. James Catholic School students even wrote letters to the judge in support of their former teacher and principal. 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. We continue to offer our prayers for all impacted by this matter.. Seemingly in the clear after that, she used the embezzled cash for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for from Nevada casinos to paying off credit cards. Sister Mary Margaret was charged on Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering while she was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Calif., the office of the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California said in a statement. He was unhappy with the churchs decision not to prosecute. Nun Stole Over $800,000 to Support Gambling Habit, Prosecutors Say, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/09/us/california-nun-guilty-gambling.html. '' the Daily Breeze reported Catholic SchoolSister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang ran off! About wanting something more from their childrens education last updated on: February 7,,. After the nuns 2022, 08:42h was in charge of overseeing tuition money, fees, and charitable donations prosecutors. 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