Nun who ran Catholic school will plead guilty to stealing money for gambling trips

LOS ANGELES (TCD) --

A former Catholic school principal agreed to plead guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering after she allegedly embezzled $835,000 to help pay for personal expenses and trips.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California released a statement Tuesday announcing the plea agreement they made with 79-year-old Mary Margaret Kreuper. The charges of one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering carry a maximum statutory sentence of 40 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges Kreuper stole money from St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, for 10 years. Kreuper, who is also a nun, was principal for 28 years and was therefore in charge of the school's bank accounts as well as the fees St. James received  in tuition and other funds.

According to the statement, Kreuper, who took a vow of poverty as a nun, allegedly split the funds into a St. James Convent Account and a St. James Savings Account. They were supposed to be used to pay for nuns' living expenses at the school.

Kreuper would then allegedly divert funds for personal expenses. In her plea agreement, Kreuper admitted 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."

Additionally, Krueper reportedly admitted to falsifying records and reports sent to the school's administration. The plea agreement states she "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."

The U.S. Attorney's Office reports the school lost $835,339.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Kreuper retired from the school in 2018. Another nun and teacher at St. James, Sister Lana Chang, was implicated at time and also accused of stealing money.

Kreuper will be arraigned in United States District Court on July 1.

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