According to an Associated Press story published in both the Chicago Tribune and Peoria Journal Star, a federal judge allowed a motion to sell some, but not all, of Rita Crundwell’s assets. According to the AP story, the affected assets are four properties in Illinois, one property in Florida, and a $2.1 million motor home. Her large horse ranch, Meri J, in Beloit, Wisconsin is not affected. The horse ranch is being operated by federal marshals.
Quoting from the story:
Rita Crundwell has pleaded not guilty to a single count of wire fraud alleging she stole from the small northern Illinois city to pay for a lavish lifestyle and create one of the nation’s foremost horse-breeding operations.
Prosecutors allege that since 1990, the 58-year-old Crundwell stole more than $53 million from Dixon, where she oversaw public finances as the city comptroller since the 1980s. They say she diverted the money to an account she had set up for personal use and misled city officials.
Prosecutors say her scheme unraveled only when a co-worker filling in for Crundwell while she was on an extended vacation stumbled upon the secret bank account. Her arrest stunned tiny Dixon, a small city along a picturesque vein of the Mississippi River about a two-hour drive west of Chicago in Illinois farm country.
Photos of the luxury motor home were uploaded to the HorseForum. I’m reposting them for readers who have never seen the interior of a motor home valued at $2.1 million.
pic credit – HorseForum.com
pic credit – HorseForum.com
pic credit – HorseForum.com
Profalbrecht will be posting a more complete story on the alleged fraud.
Debit and credit – - David Albrecht
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