Los Angeles nun pleads guilty to stealing more than $800K to pay off gambling debt

A now-retired nun accused of embezzling more than $835,000 from a southern California Catholic school to pay for “personal expenses,” including gambling, is pleading guilty to federal charges. 

Prosecutors filed federal wire fraud and money laundering charges against Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, for “stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips,” the Justice Department said in a Tuesday statement.

Kreuper, who served as principal of St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Calif., for nearly 30 years, has agreed to plead guilty. Prosecutors said that she embezzled the money over a 10-year period ending in 2018.

Kreuper, who took a vow of poverty as a nun, was “responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees, as well as charitable donations,” according to the Tuesday statement.

She admitted to diverting funds into several accounts for the school and using 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.”

Kreuper admitted to falsifying financial reports for the school. She is also accused of directing St. James School employees to change and destroy financial records during an audit, according to the Tuesday statement.  

The retired nun could face a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison under the fraud and money laundering charges. She will be arraigned on July 1.