. Sisters of St. Joseph of CarondeletFebruary 7, 2022February 14, 2022. pg.acq.push(function() { Today, we commit to respond boldly to injustice and dare to be prophetic. }) She was sentenced to prison on Monday, February 7, 2022, for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school funds. 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. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. Now Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, is set to spend a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. ga('ads.send', { A lock ( Wright ordered Kreuper, who took a vow of poverty and whose living expenses are paid for by the order, to pay $835,339 in restitution to St. James. },false) The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School. The now-retired nun, Mary Margaret Kreuper,. 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. She also controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one used to pay for the living expenses of the nuns employed by the school. At least I hope you do.. According to The New York Post, for the past three and a half years, Kreuper has been under house arrest. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet confirm that today the judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles has sentenced our Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, CSJ to one year and one day in federal prison followed by two years supervised release. The investigation into this matter is being conducted by the Torrance Police Department, the FBI, and IRS Criminal Investigation. Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. As part of her role as the head of the institution, Kreuper oversaw all funds the school received for tuition fees and charitable donations. We are one of the worlds fastest growing I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people, she told Wright. Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, who belong to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, are suspected of embezzling a "substantial" amount of money from a Catholic school in. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admits to stealing over $835k from a Catholic School. 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 fraud for embezzling nearly $835,000 from school funds. California nun, 79, to admit to stealing $835K from school funds. Be the first one to comment on this story. }) According to Press-Telegram, the embezzlement scandal also involves Sister Lana Chang who taught eighth-grade students at the elementary school came to light after a routine audit of procedures that were conducted ahead of Kreuper's retirement. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of 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 . 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.. 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 . Defense attorneys said Kreuper became a nun when she was 18 years old, and for the next 59 years "dedicated her life to helping others and educating children in Archdiocesan schools. ", The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet to which the Chang and Kreuper belonged to had released a statement after their scheme came to light in 2018. Justice for others and for ourselves is a deep value held by the Sisters of St. Joseph. However, her arrangement came to light following a 2018 financial review after her retirement. 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. As per the plea deal, Kreuper reportedly used the embezzled money to fund her personal expenses, including large gambling bets and vacations to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Temecula. A. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet confirm that today the judge of the United States District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles has sentenced our Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, CSJ to one year and one day in federal prison followed by two years' supervised release. According to authorities, she spent 10 years embezzling money from St. James Catholic School where she served as principal. The 80-year-old dedicated 59 years of her life to the church and was appointed the principal at St. James Catholic School in 1990. "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," he stated. Kreuper 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, agreed last month to plead guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. READ ALSO | 2 nuns accused of embezzling 'substantial' amount from Catholic school in Torrance. }); }); Over the course of the scheme, Kreuper admitted to causing $825,339 in losses to St. James Catholic School. Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty, admitted in the plea agreement to diverting school funds into the St. James Convent account and the St. James savings account and then using 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. She pled guilty to the charges in July 2021 and admitted that she embezzled money from the school for over a decade during her tenure. She pleaded guilty last July to one count . was part of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet order, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Viveca Tokatlian, whose son is now a senior at the University of San Diego and was once student in Chang's eighth-grade class, said she was shocked and disappointed by the news. Notifications can be turned off anytime from browser settings. June 8, 2021 / 8:30 PM In July, she pleaded guilty to one count each of. 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." She called her crimes a "violation of my vows, my commandments, the law and, above all, the sacred trust that so many had placed in me". LOS ANGELES A nun who was the principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison for stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips. Retired nun Mary Margaret Kreuper, admitted to stealing money from St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California. A nun is pictured at Vatican's Gregorian University. Kreuper's crimes occurred during her role as the school's principal, a position from which she retired in 2018. These also include her gambling trips, revealed federal prosecutors. Most of the funds she blew on gambling trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe with. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, admitted stealing $835,000 while principal of an LA-area school. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". This is merely an explanation.. Kreuper, who as a nun had taken a vow of poverty, diverted school funds into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account and then 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, according to court documents. Mary Margaret Kreuper, retired nun, pleads guilty to stealing more than $830,000 from St. James Catholic School - The Washington Post This article was published more than 1 year ago Morning Mix. While at the organization, she was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees as well as charitable donations. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. Prior to her sentencing, the nun had already been placed under several restrictions by the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. 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, according to a release from the U.S. attorney's. ga('ads.send', { Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," he added. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged last month with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering for embezzling the money over the span of 10 years, up until 2018, the . United States Attorneys Office Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. While at the organization, she was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees as well as charitable donations. 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Wright II, however, said that the majority of letters to the court from people like coworkers, church leaders, parents, and former students pushed for a lighter sentence. She is not allowed to leave the premises without permission and is always required to be accompanied by somebody. The stolen money could have covered a decade of tuition for 14 students at a school that lacked money for field trips or new books and classroom supplies, prosecutors said. Meyers said during the meeting that around that same time a family who gave money to the school requested a copy of the check, and staff noticed that the check had been deposited into an account not associated with the school. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. First published on June 8, 2021 / 8:30 PM. embezzling about a half-million dollars in tuition, fees and donations. document.querySelector("#ads").addEventListener('click',function(){ },false) Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, admitted to stealing the money from 2008 to 2018 while she was principal at St. James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. 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. let gads_event; Myers said both the nuns had confessed to their crimes. hitType: 'event', "I don't look at nuns as ordinary people," he said, according to FOX 6. '', Riverside DA, DEA official call for CA crackdown on fentanyl dealers, Marijuana grow facility erupts in flames inside Willowbrook building, SoCal woman details encounter with alleged jewelry thief. A Catholic school in 1990 $ 835,000 while principal of an LA-area school school where she served as.... 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