SISTER ACT: Two US Catholic nuns are accused of embezzling half a million US Dollars from an already cash-strapped school in California over a period of a decade!

The Sisters were seen as two of the strictest nuns at St. James School in Torrance, California. Yet, after a routine audit, an astonishing discovery was made, Sister Kreuper, 77, and Sister Chang,67, were caught swindling $500K from St. James Catholic School in Torrance, California, to fund regular trips to the casino.

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These hard to believe findings surfaced when Kreuper was set to retire and church officials performed a routine audit. When the auditor discovered a discrepancy in the books, a forensic auditor was brought in to re-evaluate. His conclusion was that the pair were using a long-forgotten bank account that only the nuns knew was operational.

An attorney involved in the case 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."

Church officials said they would not press charges against the sisters who took money belonging to the school. The Pastor, Monsignor Michael Meyers, assured St. James School that no student or program suffered any loss. He said he did not want the matter dropped and plans to, "become a complaining party". The pastor sent a letter to parents of the school explaining the crime and how it happened. Included in the letter, Pastor Meyers said the two Sisters were co-operating with an investigation, to determine the full amount of misappropriated funds.

A Sister of St. Joseph School commented, "Our community is concerned and saddened by this situation and regret any injury to our long relationship to the families of the school."

Pastor Meyers said, "Sister Kreuper and Sister Chang 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."

Sister Kreuper was principal at the school for 29 years until her retirement earlier this year. Sister Chang was a teacher for 20 years, she also retired this year. Both Sisters, who were best friends, want to make restitution to St. James School, where they worked.

Initially, church officials indicated that they would not press charges against the women as they had expressed remorse. However, on Sunday a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said that a criminal case will be pursued, as more evidence has transpired, and the investigation has deepened.

We believe the right decisions will be made at the end.