Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for
GQ about two very badly behaved nuns: Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and Sister Lana Chang, a principal and a teacher at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California. The nuns funneled hundreds of thousands of fundraising dollars into a shell account to support a gambling habit. Their crimes came to light in 2018, and earlier this week, Kreuper pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and money laundering.
At the time of Flynn’s reporting, St. James School estimated the two women embezzled around $500,000. Ultimately Kreuper admitted to stealing over $835,000. Most of the money came from school fundraisers; some came from a tuition hike. 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.
USA TODAY
An expensive gambling habit has led to a now-retired nun to face up to 40 years in federal prison.
Mary Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud and money laundering charges after stealing more than $800,000 for personal expenses including a gambling habit.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Kreuper was the principal for St. James Catholic School for 28 years, ending in 2018. Over 10 of those years, she embezzled $835,000 in donations, tuition and fee money, the office said.
Kreuper was in charge of the money the school received and as a part of her plea agreement admitted she 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.”
By Bill Galluccio
Photo: Getty Images
A retired nun from Los Angeles has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges for stealing over $800,000 from a Catholic school to fund her gambling habit. Prosecutors said that
Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, used her position as principal at St. James Catholic School in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance to embezzle $835,000 in tuition and donations.
For ten years of her 28-year tenure as principal, Kreuper directed money from the school s bank accounts, including one that was established to pay the living expenses of the nuns into her own coffers.
School officials didn t realize she had been skimming money from their accounts until she retired in 2018.
Retired nun will plead guilty to stealing more than $835K from Catholic elementary school lawofficer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lawofficer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Retired Nun Allegedly Stole $875k from School to Pay For Gambling Trips
On 6/9/21 at 10:46 AM EDT
A retired nun and Catholic elementary school principal will plead guilty, after she allegedly stole over $835,000 from the school to pay for gambling trips and personal expenses.
Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney s office for the Central District of California.
Kreuper faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison.
Kreuper was the principal of the St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California for 28 years. She retired in 2018 from the school that was overseen by the St. James church in Redondo Beach.