reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. In a memo to the judge, prosecutors cited letters from parents and students, including one from a 12-year-old saying Kreuper was just like any other robber.. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. The 80-year old nun was ordered to pay $825,338.57 she embezzled while principal at St. James in Torrance, CA and spent gambling in Las Vegas. Kreuper was part of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet order, which Newsweek has contacted for comment. The religious order Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, of which Sr. Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sr. Lana Chang are members, has agreed to a "full restitution" of money used for personal matters by the two women, the letter said. However, her arrangement came to light following a 2018 financial review after her retirement. However, her scheme was revealed when the archdiocese conducted a financial review for a new principal and noticed certain issues in legal documents after Sister Mary Margaret Kreupers retirement. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. 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. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Now hes under review, Blizzard conditions close major highways and roads in Lake Tahoe area, Before and after photos from space show storms effect on California reservoirs, Dramatic before and after photos from space show epic snow blanketing SoCal mountains, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles, Yet more rain expected to hit California in March. "Unfortunately . Minyvonne Burkeis a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. The charges carry up to 40. Pursuant to her position and title, Kreuper had legitimate control of the schools money for tuition and fees as well as donations. ", 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. Prosecutors say that Kreuper who served as the principal of St. James' school for 28 years prior to her 2018 arrest began embezzling money from the school in 2008 when she was around 66 years old. According to The New York Post, for the past three and a half years, Kreuper has been under house arrest. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. ciaran.mcevoy@usdoj.gov According to her plea agreement reviewed by Courthouse News, Kreuper began diverting both cash and checks the school received from payment for children's tuition and as donations into a St. James Convent bank account (established to pay for the living expenses of the nuns who worked at the school) as well as a the St. James savings account established for the school itself. Our congregation was founded in St. Louis in 1836, and since then we have formed additional communities and provinces around the world. 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. Ciaran McEvoy Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! }) Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. } Kreuper was sentenced to one year in prison Monday and told to pay back the money. The lawyers also mentioned that the nun was suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done. They noted that she was remorseful and very sorry for any harm she has caused., Attorney Kumar also shared that during her confrontation Kreuper mentioned that she embezzled money partly because she believed priests get paid better than nuns.. In private letters to Wright and remarks at the video hearing, some former St. James students asked him to put the nun behind bars. Suite 1200 Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison and ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Since our first sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to do all things of which women are capable. Today, we commit to respond boldly to injustice and dare to be prophetic. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper is an 80-year-old nun from Torrance and a former principal of St. James Catholic School. (Youtube/KCAL) An official website of the United States government. Kreuper pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. "They were just such staunch defenders of moral fortitude, they were really tough on the kids," she said. Police will, however, still follow the case and present their findings to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Kreuper has paid back $10,000 of what she owes, according to The Long Beach Press-Telegram. 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". She was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years. 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. According to legal documents, Kreuper embezzled money from the school over a period of 10 years ending in September 2018. Our community is deeply saddened by the pain and difficulty Sister Marys actions have caused for the parents, administration, staff and students of St. James School in Redondo Beach, California and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. As the school's principal, she was responsible for managing money received by the. ga('ads.send', { I havent slept well in God knows how long, Wright told a Zoom hearing audience, rejecting prosecutors call for a two-year term and saying he could not bring himself to judge Kreuper solely on the worst thing that shes done in her life.. gads_event = event; A nun is pictured at Vatican's Gregorian University. Her deadline to show up for incarceration is noon on June 7. 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. 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. hitType: 'event', Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! In conjunction with the criminal information, prosecutors filed a plea agreement in which Kreuper agreed to plead guilty to the two charges that carry a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in federal prison. While at the organization, she was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees as well as charitable donations. hitType: 'event', Church officials previously said they did not want to press criminal charges against the nuns. 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. ga('ads.send', { My son got the best education possible, in fact, I probably wouldve paid double the tuition rate in order for my son to attend St. James.. As a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. Your login session has expired. Kreuper was principal at the school for 29 years. The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School. media-tech companies with hubs around the world. She was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison in addition to . I have sinned, Kreuper said during a Monday teleconference, according to The New York Daily News. She pleaded guilty last July to one count . 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", Baby Mia Jade Riley: Parents Lani and Tom Riley speak out after dog attack killed their 5-week-old infant, Kyle Sambrook: Hiker falls 100ft to death while carrying his dog in one hand through 'appalling' weather, Bruce Willis's mom Marlene 'not sure if her son still recognizes her' as 'aggressiveness' creeps in, Julia Faustyna: 21-yr-old girl who claims to be Madeleine McCann admits to making 'pornographic videos' in past, Killer mom Lindsay Clancy was suffering from drug withdrawal and had 'worst side effects,' says friend. Prosecutors had recommended a 24-month prison sentence, three years of. I dont feel that Im a victim in this case, he said. Auditors at the meeting said that checks made out to the school for tuition and other fees first went to Kreuper before being handed over to the bookkeeping staff. According to the plea agreement, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018. After charges were filed, her attorneys issued a statement saying she suffered "from mental illness that clouded her judgment.". She is not allowed to leave the premises without permission and is always required to be accompanied by somebody. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), 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 . eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), "Unfortunately, later in her life she has been suffering from mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done," read the statement, which was carried by media outlets, "She is very sorry for any harm she has caused. 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. "The Sisters have confirmed the misappropriation of funds and have cooperated in the investigation. was part of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet order, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. 312 North Spring Street Meyers also said at the meeting that Kreuper began displaying "very nervous and very anxious" behavior about the audit and allegedly asked staff to change records. Myers said both the nuns had confessed to their crimes. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges, which together carry a total of up to 40 years in federal prison. These also include her gambling trips, revealed federal prosecutors. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Central District of California. Though the statutory maximum on those two charges was 40 years, prosecutors asked that she serve two, according to Courthouse News, and the judge in the case sentenced the senior citizen to just 12 months. California nun, 79, to admit to stealing $835K from school funds. READ ALSO | 2 nuns accused of embezzling 'substantial' amount from Catholic school in Torrance. ", 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.". Copyright 2023 by City News Service, Inc. All Rights Reserved. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of An indictment was unsealed today charging Terren S. Peizer, the CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ontrak Inc., a Henderson, Nevada-based publicly traded health care company, for A Carson man who was a central figure in an international fraud and money-laundering network that targeted $25 million through a variety of frauds including romance scams and elder A former executive at cinema subscription service MoviePass Inc. has been arrested on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he embezzled approximately $260,000 from MoviePass parent company to repay money Central District of California hitType: 'event', Earlier in January this year, former president Donald Trump pardoned Steve Bannon who was facing a federal case when he was charged with defrauding donors of more than a million dollars as part of a fundraising campaign to build the US-Mexico border wall. }); By Megan Carpentier The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. 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. 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. "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. pg.acq.push(function() { At the same time, prosecutors filed a plea agreement in which Kreuper agreed to plead guilty to the two charges, which carry a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in federal prison. In the spring of 2014, Kristen Biel had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and needed time off from her teaching job at St. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' }); Kreuper had recently retired, which automatically triggered an audit that found irregularities, . Bannon along with Philip Esformes, 52, a businessman from Florida, who was sentenced for orchestrating a $1B Medicare fraud scheme, spent New Year's Eve as a free man They were part of Trump's long list of pardons and commutations granted to more than 200 convicts in the final days of his presidency. Official websites use .gov Kreuper also directed St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper (CBS News) In a statement, the Archdiocese said they informed law enforcement of the misappropriated school funds after she announced her retirement in 2018. You can be proud of that, he said. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance 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. Over the course of the scheme, Kreuper admitted to causing $825,339 in losses to St. James Catholic School. They also urged Wright to keep in mind that her status as a nun helped her evade detection. Now Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, is set to spend a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Who is Mary Margaret Kreuper? First published on June 8, 2021 / 8:30 PM. eventAction: 'render' The 79-year-old Los Angeles resident was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. (213) 894-4465. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". 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. embezzling about a half-million dollars in tuition, fees and donations. She said that she falsified monthly and annual reports to cover up her actions to assure the school's administration that its financial assets were in safe hands. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. eventAction: 'click_adunit' Mary Margaret Kreuper, a retired nun who served as principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance, California, for 28 years, agreed on Tuesday to plead guilty to fraud and money laundering. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, acknowledged that Kreuper abused her trust, but called on Wright to sentence her to probation. }); She further admitted "lulling 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 allowed her to maintain access to the school's finances. Beach Press-Telegram in September 2018 her trust, but called on Wright to sentence her to probation comment..., 79, to admit to stealing $ 835K from school funds in this,., 2021 / 8:30 PM document.querySelector ( `` # ads '' ) ) { mary Margaret Kreuper was at. 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