U.S. Marshals Still Finding Assets After Crundwell Caper

U.S. Marshals continue to search for assets of Dixon’s ex-comptroller Rita Crundwell. Those include winnings from horses she once owned and bred.

Jason Wojdylo with the U.S. Marshals Service talks about a recent court filing

In 2012, Crundwell pleaded guilty to wire fraud, embezzling $53,740,394 from the city of Dixon.

“The Embezzler” and “She’s A Fancy Felon” are just a few of the horses named in an appendix of documents filed this week in the Northern District of Illinois court.  According to Jason Wojdylo, with the U.S. Marshals Service, the motion is specific to royalties that are due and payable to Crundwell for horses she once bred.

She no longer owns them, but because they were enrolled in several incentive programs, they are eligible to cash payouts as long as they are showing.

Those are the assets U.S. Marshals are pursuing.

Wojdylo says the request is to get one court order that would allow the government to be entitled to the funds in all future years.

“Thereby taking the owner or the breeder, if you will, [and] changing that in their databases from Rita Crundwell to the United States of America,” Wojdylo said.

Wojdylo says he can’t speak for the new owners, but adds, “perhaps their creativity in naming these horses dates back to being tied to Rita Crundwell, who in fact is an embezzler and a convicted felon.  So they are being very creative it appears in the naming of some of the horses.”

The court will evaluate the request.

Wojdylo also says more show clothes once owned by Crundwell continue to be recovered, and another auction is planned.