Washington – From the voluntary cloister of the monastery to the involuntary one in the prison cell: This fate threatens a religious from Los Angeles who embezzled around 835,000 US dollars for her gambling addiction over a decade. The 79-year-old Mary Margaret Kreuper has now admitted to court as a former headmistress of the “St. James Catholic School “for having diverted the money from the church institution’s income. For this, she faces up to 40 years imprisonment in a federal prison.
Religious squandered money in the casino
As the public prosecutor announced (Tuesday local time), Kreuper admitted to having squandered the five-digit amount on “gambling in casinos” in Las Vegas. According to their lawyers, the member of the “Joseph Sisters of Carondelet” is repentant. She has cooperated with law enforcement and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The case of the “casino nun” made headlines around two years ago when the order announced that it would pay for the damage caused by the alleged embezzlement. Kreuper had headed the Catholic school for almost 30 years. A religious who had worked in the administration of the school for decades helped her with her machinations.
International attention
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles initially wanted to handle the matter discreetly. After the public found out about the amount of the misappropriated sum and its whereabouts via detours, the case caused an international stir for the first time. Kreuper’s lawyers hope for the judge’s indulgence, as their client has developed a mental illness with advancing age. “This has taken away their judgment and let them do things that they would otherwise never have done,” it said.
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