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. It said the parish, school and the Archdiocese: "Reported the matter and fully cooperated with authorities in the criminal investigation," adding: "We continue to offer our prayers for all impacted by this matter," CBS 9 reported. Have a tip we should know? Author of the article: Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! According to authorities, she spent 10 years embezzling money from St. James Catholic School where she served as principal. Sister Lana, her 67-year-old accomplice, worked there for 20 years as. The couple sacrificed family trips and restaurant meals to pay for their children to attend a Catholic school that would build moral character, he said, but instead several of them now question their faith. She must also pay $825,338 in restitution, covering most of the losses of $835,339 from St. James Catholic School in the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. According to legal documents, Kreuper embezzled money from the school over a period of 10 years ending in September 2018. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. 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. 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. 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. }); 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. Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang, who worked at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, allegedly embezzled half a million dollars and used it for trips and gambling. Assistant US Attorney Poonam Kumar told The New York Post that Kreuper even asked parents to donate more money in addition to their $6,000 annual fees. Kreuper allegedly held on to some of the checks and deposited them into a separate bank account than the one used by the school. Sister Mary Margaret, 77, was a pillar of the community who spent 29 years as the principal of St. James Catholic School. hitType: 'event', The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. We, and those who share our charism and mission. By Colin Groundwater June 9, 2021 Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very. embezzling about a half-million dollars in tuition, fees and donations. Now Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, is set to spend a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. The 79-year-old Los Angeles resident was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. In private letters to Wright and remarks at the video hearing, some former St. James students asked him to put the nun behind bars. Sister Mary took responsibility for her actions by pleading guilty. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Yosemite breaks decades-old snowfall record, closing national park indefinitely, San Diego federal judge had defendants 13-year-old daughter handcuffed. 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 . The charges carry up to 40 years . Parent and former school secretaryCheryl Hugo reportedly called Kreupers actions an abuse of power in every possible way.. }); }); 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 us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," he added. They both retired at the end of this past school year, shortly before St. James Catholic Church in Redondo Beach was made aware of the alleged embezzlement happening at its school. She will appear for an arraignment at the United States District Court on July 1. Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. Meyers said he then notified the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who in turn hired an independent forensic auditor to perform a review. In court papers it was . The archdiocese did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, entered her plea to wire fraud and money laundering charges, which . Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty A now-retired nun has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $800,000 from the St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, from 2008 to 2018, the last decade of her 28-year tenure as principal of the institution.Sister Kreuper who took a vow of poverty confessed to using the . ", 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. As part of her efforts to suppress everything, she got school employees to change and destroy financial records during a school audit. 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. 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. A bookkeeper who knew about the nuns' scheme voluntarily took a leave of absence during the investigation, Michael Meyers, the churchs monsignor, said during the meeting, according to the Press-Telegram. Prosecutors filed federal wire fraud and money laundering charges against Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, for "stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including. } Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering for ripping off St. James Catholic School for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, according to . Lock A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". 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. 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. Michael Finnegan is a Los Angeles Times reporter covering federal courts and law enforcement. '', 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. 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. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), },false) The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of. "We. We are a congregation of Catholic sisters tracing our origins to France in 1650, who strive to share the great love of God with our dear neighbors today. gads_event = event; Or to keep it anonymous, click here. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { hitType: 'event', I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people, she told Wright. 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. 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. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. 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
The retired principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance who embezzled more than $835,000 in school funds to support a gambling habit was sentenced to one year in prison on Monday. 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. 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. 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. She was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance for 28 years. ga('ads.send', { Our congregation was founded in St. Louis in 1836, and since then we have formed additional communities and provinces around the world. 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