Heaven or Las Vegas? Two California nuns apparently chose the latter when they allegedly embezzled about $500,000 in tuition payments and donations from the high school they worked at to fund gambling trips to Sin City.
According to reports, St. James Catholic School in Torrance informed parents last week that Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang (not pictured) allegedly had been “involved in the personal use of a substantial amount of school funds,” in a scheme that was carried out “over a period of years.”
The archdiocese of Los Angeles discussed the allegations with parents and school alumni at meeting earlier this week at the church in Redondo beach, revealing they would not be pursuing criminal charges against the women, who retired from the school earlier this year.
Officials added that Kreuper, who was the school’s principal, and Chang, a teacher, both admitted to their sins and expressed remorse over the elaborate scheme that dates back at least 10 years.
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The indecency was uncovered about six months ago after a standard review of the school’s finances — conducted ahead of Kreuper’s retirement — revealed a check to the school had been deposited to another bank account.
The school then hired auditors auditors to do a forensic accounting, which revealed that the nuns allegedly deposited at least around $500K into a “long forgotten” church bank account that was opened in 1997, and spent the money on trips to casinos.
Auditors described a system where Kreuper handled all the checks made out to the school for tuition and fees before handing them over to the bookkeepers for processing. The principal allegedly withheld some of the checks and deposited them into an account only she and Chang knew about, endorsing the back with a stamp that read “St. James Convent” instead of “St. James School.”
The parish and the school have always run in the black, so no one was any the wiser until a family happened to request a copy of a check they made out to the school.
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Officials are still working to determine how much money was misappropriated in an internal investigation that could take weeks to complete. Bank records for the secret account before 2012 no longer exist, so the $500K may just be the tip of the crucifix.
Local media outlets report that archdiocese officials were bent on pressing charges when they met with the Torrance Police Department last Thursday, days after parents strongly opposed the decision to forgive the scamming Sisters.
The two nuns, described by many as best friends, have been removed from the ministry and moved into separate convents.
[Image via Buena Vista Pictures/YouTube.]
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