Two religious sisters who taught at St. James School in Torrance admitted to having embezzled funds set aside for the school for years.
The school recently notified police that it had found that Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang “were involved in the personal use of a substantial amount of school funds.”
Both sisters retired in June of this year: Kreuper as school principal, and Chang as a teacher. The amount embezzled may have been as much as $500,000.
Both nuns belong to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. The order said it would pay back the money to the school and impose “severe sanctions” on the two nuns.
“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,” wrote St. James pastor Msgr. Michael Meyers in a letter to parishioners. “They and their Order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school.”
In response to concerns from the community, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has indicated that it “intends on becoming a complaining party” in the law enforcement investigation of the case.
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