Crime Watch Briefs: Nun Embezzled Tuition Money; Fatal Hit And Run in Harbor City

Nun Embezzled Tuition Money from Torrance Catholic School, Sentenced to One Year in Prison

LOS ANGELES — A nun who was the principal of a Catholic elementary school in Torrance was sentenced Feb. 7, to 12 months and one day in federal prison for stealing more than $835,000 in school funds to pay for personal expenses, including gambling trips.

Mary Margaret Kreuper, 80, of the Arlington Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, was sentenced by United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II, who also ordered her to pay $825,338 in restitution.

Kreuper pleaded guilty in July 2021 to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

For 10 years ending in September 2018, Kreuper embezzled money from St. James Catholic School. As principal – a position she held for 28 years – Kreuper was responsible for the money the school received to pay for tuition and fees, as well as for charitable donations. Kreuper controlled accounts at a credit union, including a savings account for the school and one established to pay the living expenses of the nuns employed by the school.

Kreuper diverted school funds into the St. James convent account and the St. James savings account and then used the diverted funds “to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, including large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges,” according to court documents.

Kreuper falsified monthly and annual reports to the school administration to cover up her fraudulent conduct and “lulled St. James School and the Administration into believing that the school’s finances were being properly accounted for and its financial assets properly safeguarded.” according to court documents. Kreuper also directed St. James School employees to alter and destroy financial records during a school audit.

The total losses Kreuper caused to St. James Catholic School were $835,339.

The Torrance Police Department, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation in this matter.

Fatal Hit and Run Traffic Collision

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Traffic Division are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect responsible for a hit-and-run traffic collision that killed a 40-year-old man. 

On Feb 6, about 7:10 a.m., Los Angeles Fire Department received a 9-1-1 call of a cardiac arrest victim lying on the roadway at Normandie Ave. and 212th St.  A passerby was performing CPR on the victim.  Upon arrival, paramedics continued life-saving measures without success and pronounced the victim dead at scene.  Paramedics observed traumatic injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle and contacted police.   

South Traffic detectives responded to the scene and, along with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, established the victim had been struck by a vehicle. The victim’s identity is being withheld pending notification to next-of-kin. 

There is no vehicle or suspect description.