LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A nun who was the principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance was sentenced this week to 12 months and a day behind federal bars for embezzling more than $835,000 of the school’s money to fund her gambling trips, among other personal expenses.
Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of Los Angeles, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
Kreuper, who as a nun had taken a vow of poverty, pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.
For a period of 10 years ending in September 2018, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James Catholic Schools, where she was principal for 28 years. As part of her duties in that role, Kreuper was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees, as well as for charitable donations, according to prosecutors.
She controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one that paid for the living expenses of the nuns employed by the school. 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,” according to court documents.
Kreuper also made it a point to cover her tracks by falsifying monthly and annual reports to the school administration to cover up her fraudulent activity and “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,” according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Kreuper also directed St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit.
The total losses Kreuper caused the school were $835,339.
“On an annualized basis (approximately $83,000 per year), [Kreuper] stole the equivalent of the tuition of 14 different students per year,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “These funds were intended to further the students’ education, not fund [Kreuper’s] lifestyle. In their letters [to the court], several students and parents commented on how the school was lacking in resources…Another parent discussed [in a letter to the court] how [Kreuper] said there was no money for an awning at school and no money for field trips.”
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. She is very sorry for any harm she has caused,” City News Service reported.
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