mary margaret kreuper

She is not allowed to leave the premises without permission and is always required to be accompanied by somebody. He settled on one year and a day in prison. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. 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. 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. embezzling about a half-million dollars in tuition, fees and donations. As a Catholic nun, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper had taken a vow of poverty. Urgent needs call us to bold conversation and prophetic action. 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. Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted to stealing the money from 2008 to 2018 while she was principal at St. James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. United States Attorneys Office This is not an excuse for what she did, he said. 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. It turns out that at the time Kristen Biel learned she had breast cancer, Kreuper, the school principal who fired her, was embezzling large amounts of money to go on gambling sprees in Las Vegas.. After charges were filed, her attorneys issued a statement saying she suffered "from mental illness that clouded her judgment.". I have sinned, Kreuper said during a Monday teleconference, according to The New York Daily News. 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. "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," Meyers said in a Nov. 28 letter to parents. As part of her efforts to suppress everything, she got school employees to change and destroy financial records during a school audit. SisterMary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced on Monday to 12 months and one day in federal prison byU.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II and ordered to pay$825,338 in restitution to theSt. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, according to a press release from theU.S. Attorneys Office in the Central District of California. } At the time of her plea agreement, her attorney, Mark Byrne, suggested another reason in a statement to Courthouse News. 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". A Los Angeles nun jailed for stealing more than $800,000 to fund a gambling habit has admitted "I have sinned". Shes 80 years old. Kreuper has paid back $10,000 of what she owes, according to The Long Beach Press-Telegram. As far as parent Kevin Kearnswas concerned, there were no hard feelings about the embezzlement. Kreuper is also accused of directing St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. 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. The nun has also been asked to pay a total of $825,338 in restitution to St. James Catholic School. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, pleaded guilty in July to federal wire fraud and money laundering charges. 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. Now Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, is set to spend a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. 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. 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. Suite 1200 window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotOnload', function(event) { Kreuper was part of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet order, which Newsweek has contacted for comment. Chang and Kreuper's scheme was exposed after an internal auditor confirmed the church's suspicions. LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) Mary Margaret Kreuper, a now-retired nun who was the principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, has agreed to plead guilty to fraud and money laundering charges for. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II said that Kreuper was one heck of a teacher but she ran completely off the road in her life. She convinced school administration into thinking everything was on the up and up. Prosecutors told the judge Kreuper deserved prison time for stealing parents checks to the school over and over and over again for a decade, then ordering staff to destroy records in a coverup. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. Now Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, is set to spend a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. The school became aware of the alleged embezzlement in a routine audit when one of the nuns retired as the school's principal. Not all of the years appear to have involved alleged financial crimes. Sister Mary Margaret became a nun when she turned 18 in 1960 and took a vow of poverty. According to the plea agreement, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James for a period of 10 years ending in September 2018. Be the first one to comment on this story. After reviewing all the letters, Wright said, it appeared most families had forgiven Kreuper. }); 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. 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. We need to send a message that embezzling and betraying is not OK no matter who you are, no matter what your age or circumstance, Rhilinger told the judge. }) 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. 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. Officials said Kreuper and Chang used a large portion of the stolen funds for "personal gains" and "recycled" some of it back into the school, the Press-Telegram reported. 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. }); 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. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, was sentenced to one year and one day for fraud and money laundering. hitType: 'event', Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of . reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader. Have a tip or story idea? Kreuper pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. 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 . We pray that in time those impacted will find healing and the seeds of forgiveness. 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. However, the nun started diverting the money into secret accounts in 2008 to fund her gambling habits and personal credit card charges. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. 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. 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. At the prosecutors request, the judge later lowered the amount by $10,000 to account for what she has already repaid. 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. A nun who stole $835,000 from the Catholic primary school where she served as principal for 28 years, was sentenced Monday to a year in federal prison. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! 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. U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright II has set sentencing for February 7, 2022, when he would expect her to make a statement. As the school's principal, she was responsible for managing money received by the. 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. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. Official websites use .gov We, and those who share our charism and mission, are motivated in all things by our profound love of God and our dear neighbors. 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. }); 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. He previously covered state and national politics, including the 2020 presidential campaign. 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. In a series of deeply personal remarks from the bench, Wright, 77, a Marine veteran and former deputy sheriff who has served as a federal judge for 15 years, said he owed where I am today in large part to a nun who inspired him early in life. Sister Mary Margaret, 77, was a pillar of the community who spent 29 years as the principal of St. James Catholic School. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD. [emailprotected]. Kreuper, who retired in 2018 after 28 years as the schools principal, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and money laundering, confessing that she stole tuition checks, spent much of the money on casino outings with friends and tried to cover up the embezzlement. }); hitType: 'event', Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, admitted to stealing the funds while she was principal at St. James Catholic School from 2008 to 2018. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to the school administration to cover up her fraudulent conduct and lulled St. James School and the Administration into believing that the schools 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 schools finances and accounts and, thus, continue operating the fraudulent scheme, according to court documents. And I don't look at nuns as ordinary people. Prior to her sentencing, the nun had already been placed under several restrictions by the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Kreuper's embezzlement is nothing like what goes in the political circles of the country. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, entered her plea to wire fraud and money laundering charges, which . Meyers said he then notified the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who in turn hired an independent forensic auditor to perform a review. 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. 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. }); Put simply, anyone who stole over $800,000 from a school would go to prison, your honor, Assistant U.S. Atty. 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Trust shouldnt be broken like that., Kevin Kearns, who met Kreuper in 2011 when he enrolled his son in kindergarten at St. James, asked Wright to show leniency, saying she put the students and parents above everything else., The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us, Kearns said. She pleaded guilty toone count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in July 2021, according to prosecutors, as part of a plea deal. Following Mondays hearing Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was released under her own recognizance and is required to turn herself in to the Federal Bureau of Prisons by June 7, 2022. She 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. Mark Byrne, Kreupers attorney, acknowledged that Kreuper abused her trust, but called on Wright to sentence her to probation. The total losses Kreuper caused to St. James Catholic School were $835,339. Kreuper had recently retired, which automatically triggered an audit that found irregularities, . 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. The family of Joseph includes many more than just the sisters. Kreuper agreed to both charges which carry a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in federal prison. 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.. 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. pg.acq.push(function() { A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Since our first sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to do all things of which women are capable. The first sisters of our congregation arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in 1836, and we now have additional locations in St. Paul, Albany, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Japan and Peru. According to legal documents, Kreuper embezzled money from the school over a period of 10 years ending in September 2018. We are one of the worlds fastest growing Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. 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. 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. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," he added. "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. eventAction: 'click_image_ads' Officials with the archdiocese alleged the nuns spent some of the money on personal trips and gambling, the Press-Telegram reported. 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. An official website of the United States government. 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 . During the latest hearing, Mary Margaret Kreuper confessed to her crimes and admitted her wrongdoings: The nun also said that she lulled St. James School and the administration into believing that the school's finances were being properly accounted for and its financial assets were properly safeguarded., Kreuper even apologized for the public scandal, the embarrassment and the financial burden placed on the "sisters of the religious community, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, St. James School, the parishioners, parents and students.". 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. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { 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. , our members have been called to do all things of which women are capable got school to! Hittype: 'event ', Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was a pillar of the years appear to involved. And money laundering charges, which automatically triggered an audit that found irregularities, of Carondelet are a congregation Catholic! Is nothing like what goes in the Central district of California. on one year and one day for and! First sisters gathered in 1650, our members have been called to do all things of which women are.. 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