A retired nun has pled guilty to stealing over $800,000 from school funds to gamble in Las Vegas.
Mary Kreuper, 79, of Los Angeles pled guilty to money laundering and fraud while working as Principal of St. James Catholic School, where she worked for 28 years until 2018.
During the 10 years she worked at the school, she admitted to stealing over $800,000 worth of donations, tuition, and fee money, per The US Attorney's Office.
The retired nun put the money into the St. James Convent Account and the St. James Savings Account before repeatedly taking out money for her own use, including funding her gambling "habit".
During school audits, the nun also decided to have employees alter and destroy financial records.
She used 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."
The plea agreement said of the unexplained expense: "[Kreuper] 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."
Kreuper's attorney Mark Byrne said on behalf of the nun: "Unfortunately, later in her life she has been suffering from a mental illness that clouded her judgment and caused her to do something that she otherwise would not have done."
The Los Angeles Times reports that the archdiocese has said of the situation: "The community of faith at St. James was shocked and saddened by these actions and the parish, school and the archdiocese reported the matter and fully cooperated with authorities in the criminal investigation."
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles said Kreuper and another nun, Lana Chang, may have also stolen as much as half a million dollars in 2018 to fund a gambling trip to Las Vegas.
Kreuper could now spend up to 40 years behind bars for stealing a total of $835,339, and she is set to appear in the United States District Court for an arraignment on July 1.
