Shawn Christopher Flannery, age 50 of Batesville, passed away January 28, 2023 at Margaret Mary Health after a long battle with cancer. Assistant US Attorney Poonam Kumar told The Post that the wayward nun took frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Temecula and other locations throughout Southern California. Two nuns in California allegedly stole more than $500,000 from the school they had been at for years, which they spent in casinos and on vacations. Mary was a precocious child. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. A disgraced nun who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Los Angeles Catholic elementary school and went on Vegas gambling sprees will be reciting her penance from inside a federal prison cell. We had a lot of letters from parents and students who knew about the fact that she had taken the money, and presumably the money was taken from them, and yet they found it in their hearts to forgive her, Byrne said. Her religious order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has yet to publicly comment on the matter. Meanwhile, she would falsify monthly and annual reports to cover up her conduct. Thats why it came as a shock to many when the two sisters were accused of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the schools funds and using it to gamble in Las Vegas. 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As soon as she was confronted, she accepted full responsibility for what she had done and she has cooperated fully with law enforcement and the Archdiocese. The archdiocese informed authorities of the matter in 2018 when financial reviews during a change in leadership showed a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret during her tenure as school principal, church officials said. Let us pray for our school families and for Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana," Myers added . She is scheduled to appear in the Federal District Court in Los Angeles on July 1. Concern over the schools finances started to increase as the Archdiocese of Los Angeles began to prepare for the change of leadership in 2018, the archdiocese said in a statement. One of the things she said when she was first confronted by the LA Archdiocese and even before law enforcement got involved was she did it in part because she believes priests get paid better than nuns, Kumar told The Post. Besides, both the nuns in question were in positions of trust. Basically, for the last three and a half years, shes been driving her fellow sisters to doctors appointments and things like that. The World's Online Gaming Authority Since 1995, Gambling Nuns Embezzled $500,000 from California School, Blew it On Casino Junkets, Gambling Nun Gets One Year in Prison for Stealing $835k from L.A. But officials from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents and alumni of the school that auditors have not been able to trace all of the money trail. Kreuper was only exposed when she retired in 2018 and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles noted some irregularities in the schools bookkeeping while searching for her replacement. And I don't look at nuns as ordinary people. For Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, the rest of her mortal life will be decided in a few short weeks. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? They were able to get away with it because the school was doing so well, financially, that nobody ever missed the money. news, guides, reviews and information since 1995. ", But a 12-year-old said Kreuper was "just like any other robber.". There were parents who spoke today about how their kids are no longer affiliated with the church.. They are also removed from all public ministry., Sisters Mary Margaret Krueper & Lana Chang: 5 Fast Facts, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Substantial amount of school funds for their personal use.https://t.co/nIiuz3JiDR, Dalton (@DaltonReport) December 1, 2018. Heres what you need to know: An internal investigation found that over several years, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang used funds set aside for St. James Catholic School. CA: 2 Nuns Accused of Stealing Substantial Amount of Money From South Bay Catholic School.Principal, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and teacher Sister Lana Chang.Substantial amount of school funds for their personal use.https://t.co/nIiuz3JiDR. We do know that they had a pattern of going on trips. More on this story First at 10 on Fox. She served as the schools principal for 29 years. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. So there were a considerable number of parents who were very upset and obviously feeling quite betrayed. After reading about the retired nun who stole over $800,000 to support her gambling habit, learn about the dead priest whose DNA could help solve a nuns decades-old murder. According to local news outlet KTLA5, Kreuper was aided by Sister Lana Chang, who taught eighth grade and was vice-principal at the school. . She is very sorry for any harm she has caused.". Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California. The statement also condemned the embezzlement, saying, we will not defend the actions of our Sisters. In California, a septuagenarian nun faces up to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal fraud and money laundering charges. Chang was a teacher for 20 years before being promoted to vice principal. A subsequent financial review found that a substantial amount of school funds had been misappropriated for personal use by Sister Mary Margaret, with the Torrance Police Department expanding its investigation into the matter in December 2018. Officials said that they carried out an internal audit as a matter of routine, since the school was about to get new leadership. On Monday, an attorney told the parents of St James students that the two nuns had used school funds as if the funds belonged to their own personal account. The rich uncle was the parents of the St. James students," he said. Ultimately Kreuper admitted to stealing over $835,000. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. 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." Kreuper admitted embezzling about $835,000 (616,000) in donations, tuition and fee money between . At the time of Flynns reporting, St. James School estimated the two women embezzled around $500,000. This 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 the DOJ. We've received your submission. Bank records show Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had been embezzling funds from St. James Catholic School in Torrance for at least a decade, the Press-Telegram reported. Kumar said Kreuper was able to dodge detection for so many years because she would divert tuition checks and other funds to two old bank accounts that other school administrators were not aware were still being used. Crime & Safety Gambling Nun's Bad 'Habit' Catches Up To Her Catholic school principal Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced to prison for embezzling from the school to feed a gambling habit. Nuns joining Kreupers, order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, take vows of poverty when they are called to their vocation. She confessed after the diocese hired an ex-FBI agent to grill staff members at the school. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Two summers ago, Sean Flynn reported a wild story for GQ about two very badly behaved nuns: Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and Sister Lana Chang, a principal and a teacher at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California. Home invader ate shrimp, took bath and left $200 for broke King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage and give to Andrew, 'Elvis' star Austin Butler was rushed to ER after 'body just started shutting down', Drug-resistant stomach bug spreading across US: 'Serious public health alert', Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell Spare released, Jordyn Woods supports Selena Gomez amid singers feud with Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, RHONJ recap: Jennifer Aydin mocks Rachel Fudas terrible nose job, Heroic bus driver saves student from passing car, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of Today After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. "I was wrong, and I am profoundly sorry for the pain and the suffering that I have caused so many people.". Name, email and comment will be stored in our database. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. The rest, they were depositing into a separate account and using for their own purposes. "I apologize for the public scandal, the embarrassment and the financial burden that I have placed on the sisters in my religious community, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, St. James School, the parishioners, parents and students who placed their trust in me," she said. "The church tells us to forgive those who have trespassed against us," Kearns said. Alexander said, These nuns took a vow of poverty and said, Oh, no, weve got a rich uncle, Alexander told the paper. Retired nun pleads guilty to embezzling $835,000 from school, in part to finance gambling. She said that she diverted school funds into the St. James convent account and then into its federal credit union savings account. Mary Margaret Kreuper, principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Calif., until 2018, was charged with stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips. Click to reveal Mary Margaret Kreuper of Los Angeles was sentenced to one year and a day in prison after pleading guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California. Kreuper used the stolen funds for personal expenses like paying off credit cards but primarily to finance her gambling habit at casinos across Nevada. Teacher quits union as pro-Palestinian stance left her fee King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage and give to Andrew, 'Elvis' star Austin Butler was rushed to ER after 'body just started shutting down', Drug-resistant stomach bug spreading across US: 'Serious public health alert', Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell Spare released, Jordyn Woods supports Selena Gomez amid singers feud with Kylie Jenner, Hailey Bieber, RHONJ recap: Jennifer Aydin mocks Rachel Fudas terrible nose job, Heroic bus driver saves student from passing car, Savannah Guthrie Rushed Out Of Today After Testing Positive For COVID-19 During Live Broadcast, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. When Mary Margaret Bartock was born about 1938, her father, Steve, was 39, and her mother, Elizabeth, was 29. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion, Armed Woman Who Held Up Vegas Casino Tracked by Cops, Nuns' Tour Against Trump Tax Law to End at Mar-a-Lago. She confessed to causing losses to St. James Catholic School totaling $835,339 over the course of the scheme, the statement said. Instead, they planned to address the situation internally through the investigation, restitution, and sanctions on the sisters. But that plan changed with the charges recently brought up against Sister Kreuper. The disgraced nun stole hundreds of thousands of . The 80-year-old nun also was ordered to pay a total of $825,338.57 in restitution for the money she embezzled while she was a principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Calif. This snapshot of Mary Margaret Bartock's life was captured by the 1940 U.S. Census. They noted that a lay person in the same situation could expect a lengthy prison sentence. While Kreuper spent the schools funds on gambling trips, the former principal continued to ask parents to donate more money to the school on top of their $6,000 annual tuition. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesSister Mary Kreuper served as the principal at St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, for 28 years. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, a former principal at St James Catholic School in Torrance, California, used tuition fees and donations to subsidize casino gambling expenses and credit. At OUSC you will find the most trusted sites to play with cash and the best real money games. But this week, prosecutors said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, had agreed to plead guilty to stealing more than $835,000 from a Catholic elementary school to support a gambling habit and to pay for other personal expenses. Looking back, though, wasnt it a little strange that Sister Mary Margaret was always organizing poker nights at the school for charity, and that she always made the final table? Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper admitted embezzling $835,000 from St James Catholic School in the LA suburb of Torrance. Officials also say that as they audit started, Sister Mary Margaret started to seem very anxious they say that she even asked people to falsify information for her. In December 2018, after a meeting with the archdiocese, the Torrance Police Department said that it was dedicating additional staffing to help examine evidence and find people who had submitted tuition checks, account payment information or cash donations. Kreuper claimed the school was always strapped for cash, then funneled donations into shell accounts that she and Chang would use to fund trips to Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. Thanks for contacting us. The statement pledged that the order would work with the diocese to discover the full amount that had been taken from the school; they pledged to restore all of the money that was stolen. "The Sisters of St. Joseph both desire and intend to make complete restitution to St. James School," the Daily Breeze reported. The nuns embezzlement first came to light when Sister Mary Margaret was about to retire, according to church officials. Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper of Los Angeles will serve one year, and one day, behind federal prison bars for fraud and money laundering charges. The first steps with free slots are easy, but once you are ready to switch to real . Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, who worked as the school principal for 28 years, and Sister Lana Chang, confessed to embezzling at least $500,000 from the Catholic school so that they could gamble . But the Catholic church is glad to have a scandal that doesn't involve boy-rape, so they've got that going for them. The attorney said the nuns had spent the money on gambling trips and on vacations. She retired as the schools principal in 2018, after 28 years in the role, it said. However, Sister Kreuper wasnt alone in her scheme. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Richard D. Stabile. Alexander also pointed out that the two nuns had routinely lied to parents at the school about how they were paying for their vacations and their gambling trips. 3 Inmates Taken To Hospitals After Medical Emergency At LA County Jail, SoCal Storm Timeline: When To Expect More Rain, Snow And A Reprieve, Downed Trees & Mud Flows + Check Out Supremes Floating Skate Bowl, 'Cookin with GAS' 30th Anniversary Improv 2023: Groundlings, Los Angeles/WeHo, AlienCon 2023: Convention Center, Pasadena, The Best You Expo is coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center, 3 Days to Party Celebrating Women Everyday in LA, LA Cat Extravaganza & Adoption Event 2023: Fairplex, Pomona, 5th Annual The Best You Awards Ceremony and Charity Gala, Personal Assistant for Older New Yorkers in Manhattan NYC, Modeling Agency For Prostitution Scheme And Sexual Exploitation: AG, Shaken My Turkey's Death Toll, County Looks To Require Quake Retrofits, CA Scandal-Makers & Movie-Makers Shape 2022's Most Popular Baby Names, Michelin Adds 30 SoCal Restaurants To Prestigious Guide, Only In California: Car Chases Even Hollywood Couldn't Dream Up. 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