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. We, and those who share our charism and mission, are motivated in all things by our profound love of God and our dear neighbors. On screen in one of the Zoom windows were five fellow nuns from her order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Despite her vow of poverty, a California nun embezzled funds from the Roman Catholic school she ran in order to fund her gambling habit, according to federal prosecutors. hitType: 'event', Despite her nun's vow of poverty . We pray that in time those impacted will find healing and the seeds of forgiveness. As part of her role as the head of the institution, Kreuper oversaw all funds the school received for tuition fees and charitable donations. 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. But it doesnt mean hes a criminal, Rain check! On an annualized basis (approximately $83,000 per year), [Kreuper] stole the equivalent of the tuition of 14 different students per year, prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. hitType: 'event', Sign up forOxygen Insiderfor all the best true crime content. U.S. District Judge Otis D . 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. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. 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. At the prosecutors request, the judge later lowered the amount by $10,000 to account for what she has already repaid. 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 revelation came as a rude shock to parents who were led to believe that school was struggling to stay afloat because of a lack of funds. After charges were filed, her attorneys issued a statement saying Sister Mary Margaret suffered "from mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done. Prosecutors also said that Kreuper directed St. James School staff to alter and destroy financial records during an audit, and caused total losses of $835,339. 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. Put simply, anyone who stole over $800,000 from a school would go to prison, your honor, Assistant U.S. Atty. Assistant United States Attorney Poonam G. Kumar of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case. Two Catholic school nuns accused of embezzling about a half-million dollars in tuition, fees and donations from a school allegedly used some of the money to gamble in Las Vegas, according to officials cited in a news report. I was wrong and Im profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering Ive caused so many people.. A lock ( 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. }); LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Mary Margaret Kreuper, a now-retired nun and a Los Angeles resident was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering on Tuesday, June 8. According to The New York Post, for the past three and a half years, Kreuper has been under house arrest. pg.acq.push(function() { Kreuper had recently retired, which automatically triggered an audit that found irregularities, . Her crime came to light after her retirement was announced in 2018 and the archdiocese began an audit of the school's finances to prepare for its change in leadership. She doesnt have anywhere to go, he said. Pursuant to her position and title, Kreuper had legitimate control of the schools money for tuition and fees as well as donations. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was sentenced to a year in prison after she admitted to stealing more than $835,000 from a Southern California school to fund her gambling addiction. Suite 1200 California nun, 79, to admit to stealing $835K from school funds. She pleaded guilty last July to one count . }); 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. According to the plea agreement, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018. Chang and Kreuper's scheme was exposed after an internal auditor confirmed the church's suspicions. Love of God is at the heart of our charism. But this week, prosecutors said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, had agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than $835,000. 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. 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. pg.acq.push(function() { 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 eventAction: 'click_adunit' A media statement issued last month by her attorneys, Mark A. Byrne and Daniel V. Nixon, said that Sister Mary Margaret had been "very remorseful" and had accepted full responsibility for what she had done. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Bank records show Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had been embezzling funds from St. James Catholic School in Torrance for at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported. We, and those who share our charism and mission, are motivated in all things by our profound love of God and our dear neighbors. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD. if(document.querySelector("#ads")){ Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, admitted stealing $835,000 while principal of an LA-area school. Mary Margaret Kreuper, of Los Angeles, was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years. pg.acq.push(function() { ga('ads.send', { We also deeply value relationships. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' 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. In a letter addressed to parents and parishioners, he wrote, "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. 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. The family of Joseph includes many more than just the sisters. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ 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. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged today with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. }) As principal a position she held for 28 years Kreuper was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees, as well as for charitable donations. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, will plead guilty on July 22 to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. A retired nun accused of gambling with the funds of a Torrance Catholic school where she worked as the principal faces federal prison time after pleading gui. Over the course of the scheme, Kreuper admitted to causing $825,339 in losses to St. James Catholic School. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. Shes 80 years old. A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". Diverting embezzled funds into secret accounts, Kreuper used the money "to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for,'' including large gambling expenses and trips to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Temecula, according to her plea agreement. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { Michael Finnegan is a Los Angeles Times reporter covering federal courts and law enforcement. 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(), eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Julija Garunkstis, who attended the small school of three stucco and red-brick buildings from 2005 to 2014, told the judge about the fear that Kreuper instilled in children when they misbehaved. But. }); Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. hitType: 'event', When an audit threatened to expose the scheme, Kreuper instructed St. James employees to destroy documents. The nun served as the principal of the elementary school for nearly 28 years until her retirement in 2018. window.adsContainer = {"positionAfterTitle":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position2":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position3":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Below_Next_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position4":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position5":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle1_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position6":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle2_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position7":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle3_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position8":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle4_Rel_Newrev","max_width":300,"max_height":250},"position9":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle5_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position10":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle6_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position11":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle7_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position12":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle8_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position13":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle9_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position14":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle10_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position15":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle11_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"position16":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_Middle12_Rel_Newrev","max_width":336,"max_height":280},"positionTop":{"code":"Article_Desktop_970x250_Header_Rel","isOrganicUserAd":false,"max_width":970,"max_height":250},"positionBottom":{"code":"Article_Desktop_Sidebar_Bottom_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":300,"max_height":600},"positionBottomRight":{"code":"Article_Desktop_300x250_After_Title_Rel_Newrev","isOrganicUserAd":true,"max_width":336,"max_height":280}} Insiderfor all the best true crime content { Kreuper had legitimate control of the schools money for tuition fees... 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