Two nuns have admitted to stealing £398,000 from a Catholic school so they could go on a gambling trip to Las Vegas according to ABC.
St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, revealed last week that Sister Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang had been involved in 'the personal use of a substantial amount of school funds'.
However, the school have not decided to press charges against the sisters.
The two nuns were former employees of the school with Kreuper, the principal, having worked there for 28 years and Chang employed as a teacher.
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With Kreuper's retirement fast approaching the church performed a routine audit and became aware of the alleged theft. The church then tipped off authorities.
The sisters had been reportedly telling parents the school was operating on a shoestring budget.
However, an attorney for the school claimed that instead the nuns had spent some of the money when they were living it up in Vegas on gambling trip.
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The attorney said: "We do know that they 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."
According to Adrian Alarcon, director of media relations for the Los Angeles Archdiocese the audit raised 'several red flags' of 'cheques being cashed into different accounts'.
Kreuper retired in June after 28 years as principal. The monsignor, Michael Meyers said she had grown 'very nervous and very anxious' about the audit, and asked staff to alter some of the records.
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Meyers said the church and archdiocese have chosen not to press for criminal charges against the sisters.
Instead they plan to 'address the situation internally through the investigation, restitution and sanctions on the sisters'.
In a letter to parishioners, Meyers explained: "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.
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"They and their Order pray that you have not lost trust or faith in the educators and administrators of the school."
The letter continued: "I want to assure you that the investigation has disclosed that, notwithstanding this misappropriation, no student or program at St. James has suffered any loss of educational resources, opportunities, or innovations. In sum, the education of your children has not and will not be affected by these events.
"At our school, we have initiated additional procedures and oversight policies for financial management and reporting responsibilities. I appreciate the efforts of the school staff to date and will continue to work with them directly on these issues."
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Featured Image Credit: ABC