Two nuns at a Catholic church in Southern California are suspected of embezzling up to $500,000 in school funds, allegedly using some of the money to go on trips and gamble at casinos, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told ABC News.

The nuns, Sister Mary Margaret Kreuper and Sister Lana Chang, had been "involved in the personal use of a substantial amount" of school funds "over a period of years," Monsignor Michael Meyers, pastor for the St. James Catholic School in Redondo Beach -- about 20 miles southwest of Los Angeles -- wrote in a letter to parents on Nov. 28.

The money came from tuition, school fees and donations and was taken while the nuns allegedly made parents believe that the school was operating on a shoestring budget, The Press-Telegram, a Long Beach, California-based newspaper, reported.

School administration noticed the alleged scam after performing financial reviews "in connection with a change in leadership" at the school, Meyers wrote. The half million-dollar figure represents only what auditors have been able to trace in six years' worth of bank records and may not include cash transaction, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles told parents at an alumni meeting last week, according to The Press-Telegram.

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