Nuns Steal Half A Million Dollars From Church To Turn Up In Las Vegas

You won’t look at a nun the same way again. The Principal At Saint James Catholic School, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, and an 8th-grade teacher, Sister Lana Chang, both admitted to embezzling a “substantial” amount of money from tuition and other funds from the school and using it to pay for gambling trips to Las Vegas.

Archdiocese of Los Angeles Media Relations Director, Adrian Alarcon, said the embezzlement has been going on for at least ten years undetected. The total amount taken from tuition payments and other funds is still being determined, but reports show as much as $500,000, although Alarcon could not confirm.  She stated it is routine to conduct a financial review after a principal retires and that is how the matter came to their attention. Principal/Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana both conveniently retired from the school last year after over 20 years each.

Monsignor Michael Meyers said the sisters and their order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, have promised to repay the money and although the archdiocese notified police, the church doesn’t plan on pressing charges and would rather resolve the matter internally with the money repaid and the nuns disciplined by their order. Meyers sent a letter home to parents addressing the situation that stated, “Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Lana have expressed to me and asked that I convey to you, the deep remorse they each feel for their actions and ask for your forgiveness and prayers. They and their order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school.” 

Not sure how well that apology will go over with the parents of the school, as many of their projects and ideas were being denied due to “underfunding.” Go figure!