Who is Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper? Torrance nun receives prison sentence for embezzling school funds to aid gambling habit

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.

The nun has also been asked to pay a total of $825,338 in restitution to St. James Catholic School. 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.

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. She even attempted to destroy documents when an audit nearly exposed her arrangement.

However, her scheme was revealed when the archdiocese conducted a financial review for a new principal and noticed certain issues in legal documents after Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper’s retirement. The nun admitted to her crimes shortly after she was indicted.

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Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper asked parents to donate more money in addition to the school fees

Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper took her vows when she was 18 years old (Image for representation via Getty Images)

Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper is an 80-year-old nun from Torrance and a former principal of St. James Catholic School. She was sentenced to prison on Monday, February 7, 2022, for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school funds.

The nun served as the principal of the elementary school for nearly 28 years until her retirement in 2018. As part of her role as the head of the institution, Kreuper oversaw all funds the school received for tuition fees and charitable donations.

Prosecutors alleged that she was also responsible for controlling credit union accounts, including a savings account for the school and another account to pay the living expenses of nuns hired by the institution.

However, the nun started diverting the money into secret accounts in 2008 to fund her gambling habits and personal credit card charges. Assistant US Attorney Poonam Kumar told The New York Post that Kreuper even asked parents to donate more money in addition to their $6,000 annual fees.

Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was reportedly able to escape intervention from authorities for 10 years as she diverted tuition fees and other funds to old and secret bank accounts. However, her arrangement came to light following a 2018 financial review after her retirement.

Kreuper’s attorneys Mark A. Byrne and Daniel V. Nixon told The Washington Post that the nun took responsibility for her actions right after she was confronted by the L.A. archdiocese.

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.”

During the latest hearing, Mary Margaret Kreuper confessed to her crimes and admitted her wrongdoings:

“I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses. [The crimes were] a violation of my vows, the commandments, the law, and above all the sacred trust that so many had placed in me. I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people.”

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."

Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper was just 18 years old when she took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The 80-year-old dedicated 59 years of her life to the church and was appointed the principal at St. James Catholic School in 1990.

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. Prior to her sentencing, the nun had already been placed under several restrictions by the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

According to The New York Post, for the past three and a half years, Kreuper has been under house arrest. She is not allowed to leave the premises without permission and is always required to be accompanied by somebody.

Following Monday’s 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 will also be placed under two years’ supervision after the completion of her one-year and one-day prison sentence.