mary margaret kreuper

Lock Mary Margaret Kreuper was the principal of the elementary school for 28 years. I was wrong and Im profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering Ive caused so many people.. He previously covered state and national politics, including the 2020 presidential campaign. St. James Catholic School Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper embezzled $835,339 in the school's tuition, fees, and charitable donations for her personal expenses. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), ga('ads.send', { 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.. "They were just such staunch defenders of moral fortitude, they were really tough on the kids," she said. ", In a statement, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said that: "The community of faith at St. James was shocked and saddened by these actions.". The nun has also been asked to pay a total of $825,338 in restitution to St. James Catholic School. U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Environmental Crimes and Community Safety, Nun Who Embezzled Tuition Money from Torrance Catholic Elementary School Sentenced to One Year in Federal Prison, CEO of Nevada-Based Publicly Traded Health Care Company Charged with Federal Crimes for Alleged Insider Trading Scheme, Carson Man Sentenced to More Than 11 Years in Prison for Role in International Conspiracy to Launder Money Taken from Fraud Victims, Former MoviePass Executive Arrested on Indictment Alleging He Embezzled $260,000 from Employer to Repay Coachella Debt, Nun Who Embezzled Tuition Money From Torrance Catholic Elementary School Sentenced To One Year In Federal Prison. 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. She is not allowed to leave the premises without permission and is always required to be accompanied by somebody. Kreuper also directed St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit. Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more! LOS ANGELES A nun who was the principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance was sentenced today to 12 months and one day in federal prison for stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips. hitType: 'event', "I don't look at nuns as ordinary people," he said, according to FOX 6. While at the organization, she was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees as well as charitable donations. eventCategory: event.slot.getSlotElementId(), Eighty-year-old Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted stealing the money from 2008 to 2018 while she was principal at St. James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. 312 North Spring Street She also controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one used to pay for the living expenses of the nuns employed by the school. For three years, Byrne told the judge, the nuns in her order have kept her under severe restrictions at a convent. Check out an array of spirituality resources. The 79-year-old Los Angeles resident was charged Tuesday with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Track SoCal rain with LIVE Megadoppler 7000 HD. 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. window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California. The charges against the 79-year-old were leveled on Tuesday, June 8, and prosecutors at the same time filed a plea agreement. 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. (213) 894-4465. He is a priest in the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and a former president of the Canadian Canon Law Society. 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. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.''. Your login session has expired. 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. In private letters to Wright and remarks at the video hearing, some former St. James students asked him to put the nun behind bars. Her plea agreement from June 8 with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said the 79-year-old had diverted funds into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account. These funds were intended to further the students education, not fund [Kreupers] lifestyle. The charges carry up to 40 years . Myers said both the nuns had confessed to their crimes. She diverted tuition to a secret account, which she used to fund casino trips, prosecutors said. 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. Kreuper allegedly held on to some of the checks and deposited them into a separate bank account than the one used by the school. 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 In court papers it was . Not all of the years appear to have involved alleged financial crimes. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ Mary Margaret Kreuper, a nun who admitted stealing more than $800,000 from St. James Catholic School in Torrance when she was its principal, spent some of the money on trips to Las Vegas and Lake. Assistant United States Attorney Poonam G. Kumar of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case. 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. }); }); By Megan Carpentier The St. James Catholic Church school in Torrance, California, on February 7, 2022. "Unfortunately, later in her life she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done. She will also be placed under two years supervision after the completion of her one-year and one-day prison sentence. As the school's principal, she was responsible for managing money received by the. We seek to build communities and bridge divides between people. / KCAL News. Nuns stole over $500,000 from struggling Catholic school to fund trips and gambling habit, FBI recovers over $2M out of $4.4M ransom paid to Colonial Pipeline hackers. ga('create', 'UA-67136960-15', 'auto', 'ads'); 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. At the time of her plea agreement, her attorney, Mark Byrne, suggested another reason in a statement to Courthouse News. I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people, she told Wright. In her plea agreement, they noted that 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. Now Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, is set to spend a year and a day in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Some parents at her hearing said their children felt betrayed by her decision to take their tuition money. IE 11 is not supported. 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. The church was made aware of the scheme around June when it began a routine audit in response to Kreupers retiring. "I don't have to worry about b.s. She pled guilty to the charges in July 2021 and admitted that she embezzled money from the school for over a decade during her tenure. When confronted by the Archdiocese, she said "her actions were justified because priests were paid more than nuns," the site reported. Officials with the archdiocese alleged the nuns spent some of the money on personal trips and gambling, the Press-Telegram reported. 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. Wright also said that as someone who had been educated by nuns, "unlike most cases, this one will be a struggle.". Author of the article: 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. U.S. District Judge Otis D . Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles, was charged Tuesday with one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School. }); Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was just 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. 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. The judge said he was grappling with the possibility that conditions at the convent might be worse than prison. 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. 'I have sinned, I've broken the law and I . My son got the best education possible, in fact, I probably wouldve paid double the tuition rate in order for my son to attend St. James.. 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.. Please logout and login again. Mary Margaret Kreuper had been principal at St. James Catholic School, where Sr. Lana Chang had been a teacher. But somewhere along the line, you just ran completely off the road, and I think you understand that. }); 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. Copyright 2023 by City News Service, Inc. All Rights Reserved. '', 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. Her deadline to show up for incarceration is noon on June 7. Or to keep it anonymous, click here. window.googletag.pubads().addEventListener('slotRenderEnded', function(event) { The nun admitted to her crimes shortly after she was indicted. The embezzlement helped to fuel her gambling habit. Margaret Mary Kreuper has pled guilty to embezzling $835,000 from St. James Catholic School to fund gambling trips and personal expenses (St. James Catholic Church) Who is Mary Margaret Kreuper? 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. 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. 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. Kreuper also falsified the school's monthly and yearly financial reports to hide her embezzlement and, when questioned by parents about the school's resources, told them "there was no money for an awning at school and no money for field trips," prosecutors said. 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. A nun is pictured at Vatican's Gregorian University. Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Arlington Heights in Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California.. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet are a congregation of Catholic sisters. 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. hitType: 'event', The lawyers also mentioned that the nun was suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done. They noted that she was remorseful and very sorry for any harm she has caused., Attorney Kumar also shared that during her confrontation Kreuper mentioned that she embezzled money partly because she believed priests get paid better than nuns.. 2020 presidential campaign very sorry for the pain and suffering Ive caused so mary margaret kreuper people a... 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