Rita crundwell case1/19/2024 So how was she caught? While Rita was on an extended vacation for horse shows, the city hired a replacement for her. In one year alone, Crundwell embezzled over $5 million. Those invoices and the related checks were often for round dollar amounts (e.g., $250,000) and most were for more than $100,000. (So the canceled checks made out to Treasurer agreed with directions on the invoice, but the words “State of Illinois” were conveniently left off the check payee line.) Remember Crundwell was the treasurer of Dixon. To complete her deceit, Crundwell provided auditors with fictitious invoices from the Illinois Department of Transportation these invoices included the following notation: Please make checks payable to Treasurer, State of Illinois. Once the money was in the RSDCA account, Crundwell wrote checks for personal expenses-and she did so for over twenty years. But no entry was made to the city’s records for the deposit to the RSDCA account. A capital project fund journal entry was made for each check debiting capital outlay expense and crediting cash. While the capital project fund disbursement was recorded on the city’s books, the RSDCA deposit was not. From the bank’s perspective, a transfer had been made from one city bank account to another (from the capital projects fund to the reserve sewer development construction fund). Crundwell was the only authorized check signer for the account, and the RSDCA bank account was never set up on the city’s general ledger. The City’s records reflected none of the RSDCA deposits or disbursements.Ĭrundwell would write and sign manual checks from a legitimate city capital project fund checking account, completing the check payee line with “Treasurer.” (Yes, Crundwell had the authority to issue checks with just her signature-even for legitimate city bank accounts.) She would then deposit the check into her secret account. So how did she steal the money? In 1990, Crundwell opened a secret bank account in the name of the city (titled the RSDCA account: the initials stood for reserve sewer development construction account). Secret Bank AccountĪccording to the mayor, the city’s annual audits raised no red flags, and the city’s primary bank never reported anything suspicious. Burke later recalled his emotions and words: “I literally became sick to my stomach, and I told him that I hoped my suspicions were all wrong.” Such a response is understandable given that Crundwell had worked for the city for decades. It was a disturbing moment when Dixon Mayor James Burke presented the FBI with evidence of Crundwell’s fraud. In April 2011, finance commissioner and veteran council member, Roy Bridgeman, praised Crundwell calling her “a big asset to the city as she looks after every tax dollar as if it were her own.” Too much trust in a bookkeeper can lead to huge problems. So how did this happen? Rita Crundwell won the trust of those around her-especially that of mayor and council. The city’s annual budget? $6 to $8 millionīut even with budgets and audits, the Dixon, Illinois scandal happened. She used the money to fund one of the top quarter horse ranches in the country, and she did it with style: Some of the funds were used to purchase over $300,000 of jewelry and a $2.1 million motor coach vehicle. So why did she steal? It appears Rita just enjoyed the good life. One friend described her as “sweet as pie.” Another said: “You could not find a nicer person.” The city of 16,000 residents held Crundwell in high esteem. Rita Crundwell, comptroller, and treasurer of Dixon, Illinois stole $53 million over a twenty-year period. The Rita Crundwell story provides a cautionary tale for small businesses, governments, and nonprofits. Is it possible for one person to steal over $53 million from a city with an annual budget of less than $10 million? Yes.
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