Half a million dollars in ten years
Two American nuns, who worked at a Catholic school near Los Angeles, admitted that they embezzled school money to bet on them in a Las Vegas casino, as announced by their hierarchy yesterday.
This embezzlement of checks intended for the school lasted more than 10 years, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the amount can reach $ 500.000.
"We know they used to travel and go to the casino. The issue is that they used the (school) account as their personal account ", said a researcher, according to local press reports.
The Order of the Brothers of St. Joseph de Carontele "confirms that it was informed by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles of an investigation into the finances of the St. James's School in Torrance, California," he told AFP in a statement.
"We were informed about the embezzlement of funds in which our two sisters are involved. The sisters confirmed the misuse of the money and cooperated in the investigation ", the religious order continued, apologizing to the families and wishing" the full compensation of the St. James school ".
Sister Mary Margaret Kruper, director of the foundation she worked for for 20 years, and her very good friend, Sister Lana Chang, who taught at the school, both retired this year. A financial audit carried out after their departure revealed the embezzlement, the school explained in a letter to the parents, citing the "deep regret" expressed by the two sisters.
"No student or program in St. James has suffered financial loss (….) Your children's education has not been affected, nor will it be affected by the events," the school said in a letter to AFP.
The case was reported to the police and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which initially did not want to file a complaint, but now intends to file a lawsuit, as he told the French Agency.