Nuns
In this representational image, nuns walk through St. Peter's Square at dawn in Vatican City, Sept. 03, 2018. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A retired nun and former principal in Los Angeles admitted to federal prosecutors Tuesday that she embezzled more than $835,000 from a private Catholic school to fund her gambling habit.

Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper, 79, will plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for Central District of California.

Nuns take a vow of poverty, which Kreuper decided to ignore. The embezzlement had been ongoing for about 10 years and until September 2018 at St. James Catholic School in Torrance. She had been at the school for 28 years.

Kreuper's arraignment is scheduled for July 1. She faces 40 years in federal prison.

Part of Kreuper's job was to handle fees received for tuition from students, credit union accounts, savings accounts, living expenses for employed nuns, along with charity donations.

Kreuper admitted to falsifying financial reports to the school administration. According to prosecutors, Kreuper diverted school funds from different accounts.

She said the money went “to pay for expenses that the order would not have approved, much less paid for, including large gambling expenses incurred at casinos and certain credit card charges."