A California principal who stole over $835,000 from a Catholic school likely wishes she had stolen “nun” of it.
Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison on Monday for stealing $835,339 from St. James Catholic School to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips. Kreuper, who pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in July 2021, was also ordered to pay $825,338 in restitution, according to the Department of Justice.
Court documents stated Kreuper had embezzled money from the school for 10 years up until September 2018. During her time as principal, a title she worked under for 28 years, she was in charge of the money the school received to pay for tuition, fees, and charitable donations. For 10 years, she diverted school funds into the school’s Convent Account and its Savings Account to use for herself.
MAN TRACKED DOWN AFTER LEAVING CASINO WITHOUT $229,000 JACKPOT
“On an annualized basis (approximately $83,000 per year), [Kreuper] stole the equivalent of the tuition of 14 different students per year,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “These funds were intended to further the students’ education, not fund [Kreuper’s] lifestyle.”
The documents also state Kreuper had falsified monthly and annual reports to the school administration to cover up her fraudulent conduct. She also directed St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit, the documents claim.
Kreuper, who had taken a vow of poverty as a nun, told the judge her crimes were “a violation of my vows, the commandments, the law, and above all the sacred trust that so many had placed in me,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“I have sinned, I have broken the law, and I have no excuses,” Kreuper said.
