Naman Shrestha
In ‘The Horseplay Heist’ of Hulu’s ‘Scam Goddess,’ the focus is on the treasurer of the Illinois town of Dixon — Rita Crundwell. After gaining the trust of the community, she managed to embezzle millions of dollars for personal profit over the course of a couple of decades. The town’s locals and officials are interviewed by Laci Mosley, who digs deeper into the entire case and provides a detailed account of the scam from the perspective of the victims.
Rita Crundwell Embezzled More Than $50 Million Over the Course of Nearly Three Decades
Born on January 10, 1953, to Ray and Caroline Humphrey, Rita A. Crundwell (née Humphrey) was raised near Dixon, Illinois, on her family’s farm. Before even graduating from Dixon High School, the teenage girl landed a job at the Dixon City Hall. A few years into his job, Rita tied the knot with an engineering technician named Jerry L. Crundwell in 1974. At the time, she served as the secretary for Dixon’s mayor. On the side, in 1978, she started her horse business, wherein she showed and sold American Quarter Horses. After gaining several years of experience at the Dixon City Hall, she moved up the ranks and became the treasurer and comptroller of Dixon in 1983. She held this position for nearly three decades. 12 years after her marriage, she parted ways with Jerry in 1986.
The embezzlement began as she opened a secret bank account on December 8, 1990. In order to avoid any suspicion, she made it seem like a city account and made herself the only signatory. As part of her scam, she used to deposit money into another account, make up fake state invoices, and pay funds to the treasurer, depositing it into the secret account. According to reports, she embezzled more than $2 million each year for more than two decades and used the money to run her horse business and support her extravagant life, which included a luxurious motorhome and several cars. Upon noticing the amount of wealth she had, Dixon residents assumed that it was a result of her successful horse business. When the Great Recession hit the nation, several locals suspected that Rita might be doing something illegal.
In order to find out the source of her wealth, the Dixon City Hall clerk and Rita’s co-worker, Kathe Swanson, looked into her finances in 2011 and learned about the secret account. Consequently, the FBI got involved in the case and instructed Kathe and the mayor of Dixon to remain patient while they built a strong case against the scammer. Finally, after decades of scamming the people of Dixon, Rita was arrested on April 17, 2012, and was officially indicted for embezzling $30 million in city money in the past six years. Furthermore, she was charged with one count of wire fraud but was released on bail the following day. In a few weeks’ time, on May 2, she got into more serious trouble as she was indicted for embezzling $53 million over the prior 22 years.
Rita Crundwell Was Released Early and Even Got Her Sentence Commuted in Late 2024
On November 14, 2012, Rita Crundwell pleaded guilty to a single count of wire fraud to reduce her sentence for her fraudulent crimes. She also confessed that she used the embezzled money to run her horse business. As part of the plea deal, Rita was also ordered to forfeit over $53 million in assets, cash, and possessions, in order to make full restitution to the city and its people. A few months later, on February 14, 2013, the prosecution wanted the defendant to receive the maximum sentence possible. On the other hand, the defense emphasized Rita’s cooperation with the authorities and requested the court to give her only 13 years.
However, the judge sentenced her to a total of 19 years and seven months in prison for her crimes and scamming the city of more than $50 million. Having served several years in prison, in April 2020, Rita highlighted her deteriorating health, the COVID-19 pandemic, and her good behavior during her incarceration in order to get released from prison earlier than scheduled. About a month later, she withdrew her request after the Dixon City Council opposed the idea of her early release. At the time, she was serving her sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Waseca in Waseca, Minnesota, with her release date scheduled for March 2030.
After serving more than eight years behind bars, on August 4, 2021, Rita was released early on home confinement, after which she reportedly lived with her family at her brother’s 80-acre farm. This decision was not met well by the Dixon City officials and residents. What added more salt to their wounds was when President Biden commuted her sentence on December 12, 2024, making her a free woman yet again despite her embezzlement crimes. The decision to commute her was described as “a complete travesty of justice and a slap in the face for our entire community” by Dixon City manager Danny Langloss Jr.
Read More: Kathe Swanson: Where is Rita Crundwell’s Former Co-Worker Now?
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