Los Angeles, Calif., Dec 11, 2018 / 08:52 am
The two religious sisters accused of embezzling from a California Catholic school face a criminal investigation, and will not be defended by their religious community.
"The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has filed a criminal complaint with the Torrance, California Police Department against Sisters Mary Margaret Kreuper and Lana Chang for misappropriation of funds," the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet confirmed in a statement released Tuesday.
"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."
Krueper and Chang stand accused of diverting funds from St. James School, where both worked until this year, into personal accounts. They reportedly took nearly $500,000 over more than a decade, and were caught during an audit begun earlier this year. Krueper had been principal at the school and Chang a teacher; both are recently retired.