An elderly nun who vowed to live in poverty has been jailed after stealing nearly one million dollars from a primary school.
80-year-old Mary Margaret Kreuper was sentenced to one year in prison and ordered to pay $835,338.57 in restitution after it came to light that she stole nearly $1 million from St. James Catholic School in Torrance, Los Angeles.
According to the reports, Kreuper stole the funds between 2008 and 2018 when she was a principal at the catholic school. She then used the money to fund her trips to Las Vegas where she spent thousands on gambling.
Since her arrest, the disgraced nun pleaded guilty to money laundering and fraud and admitted that she had sinned and broken her vows.
“I have sinned, I’ve broken the law and I have no excuses,” the 80-year-old told the judge as she appeared in a virtual hearing on Monday.
“My actions were in violation of my vows, my commandments, the law and, above all, the sacred trust that so many had placed in me. I was wrong and I’m profoundly sorry for the pain and suffering I’ve caused so many people.”
Addressing the nun, U.S. District Court Judge Otis D. Wright II told her that she can be proud of her long and successful career as a teacher before telling her she “ran completely off the road” somewhere along the line.
The judge also appeared to be sympathetic to the nun’s crimes as he turned down the prosecutor’s calls for Kreuper to be jailed for two years as he said he couldn’t judge the woman based on “the worst thing that she’s done in her life.”
What are your thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends. For more news and stories, follow us on Facebook!