Two retired sisters have been accused of embezzling funds from the Catholic school where they’d been working for over ten years.
The Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet say the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has filed a criminal complaint against two sisters – Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang – for misappropriating funds from St James School.
Kreuper and Chang are alleged to have misappropriated about $500,000 from the school, diverting it into their own bank accounts.
They were caught during an audit begun earlier this year. Krueper is a former principal of the school and Chang a teacher.
The pair is thought to have used the money for gambling, trips to Las Vegas and other personal expenses.
The Sisters of St Joseph say they intend to make restitution to the school when the exact amount of money misappropriated is known.
“As a religious community, we will not defend the actions of our Sisters. What happened is wrong. Our Sisters take full responsibility for the choices they made and are subject to the law.
In addition, Msgr Michael Meyers of St James Parish says the sisters’ congregation is “imposing appropriate penalties and sanctions on each of the sisters in accordance with the policies of the Order.”
The order also has confirmed “canonical restrictions” have been imposed on Kreuper and Chang.
“The two sisters are removed from their residence and placed in a religious house under the supervision of community leadership. They are also removed from all public ministry.”
Krueper and Chang have reportedly expressed remorse for their actions.
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