St. James School's 2016 enrollment was 325 students, according to an archdiocesan directory.
Some parents at the school alleged that the sisters often took gambling trips to Las Vegas. Krueper has a P.O. Box and a prior address in Las Vegas, according to The Beach Reporter.
Marge Graf, an archdiocesan attorney, told St. James School parents that the sisters "had a pattern of going on trips, we do know they had a pattern of going to casinos, and the reality is, they used the account as their personal account," The Beach Reporter noted.
The sisters are members of the Los Angeles Province of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cardondelet. Though they are commonly referred to as "nuns," that term is reserved in the Church to consecrated women living in contemplative monasteries. Kreuper and Chang are more properly referred to as "religious sisters."
Lori Barr, a former principal of St. Paul School in Santa Fe Springs, California, was sentenced in 2015 to 180 days in county jail for stealing $64,000 from the school, which is owned and operated by the Los Angeles archdiocese. Barr was discovered to have made charges on the school's American Express card, making purchases from Disneyland, Tiffany & Co, United Airlines, and Victoria's Secret, among others.
Barr paid restitution to the archdiocese before she was sentenced, and apologized to school and diocesan officials.
It has not yet been announced what charges Krueper and Chang will face.
This story is developing and has been updated.
J.D.Flynn served as Catholic News Agency's editor-in-chief from August 2017 to December 2020.