A California nun has agreed to plead guilty to taking more than $800,000 from the Catholic elementary school she ran, according to federal prosecutors.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said Sister Mary Margaret, 79, was charged Tuesday with wire fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors say the scheme at St. James Catholic School ran for ten years, ending in September 2018. She had served as the school’s principal for 28 years and agreed to plead guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors.
Under the plea agreement, prosecutors say she diverted $835,339 from the school for expenses her religious order would not have approved, including large gambling expenses at casinos and certain credit card charges.
Prosecutors say she was in charge of tuition money, school fees and charitable gifts, and had authority over the school’s credit union accounts, which they say she used to move money around. They also say she admitted to creating false financial records.
She is scheduled to be arraigned on July 1.
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