Feds Eye Crundwell’s Breeders’ Royalty Revenue

The Department of Justice will seek the release frozen breeders’ trust royalty revenue Crundwell earned between 2012 and 2014.
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While Rita Crundwell serves her federal prison term, the Department of Justice (DOJ) will ask the courts to release frozen breeders' trust royalty revenue that she earned between 2012 and 2014. The agency will also petition the court to allow the U.S. Marshals Service to seize future royalty assets the convicted embezzler could earn on horses she bred and sold.

In April 2012, a federal grand jury indicted Crundwell for misappropriating more than $53 million from the city of Dixon, Illinois. She was charged with one count of wire fraud and, under a plea deal, admitted to stealing the funds and using them to finance her breeding and showing business and other equestrian activities. Crundwell also agreed that she owed Dixon $53,740,394 in restitution and was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison.

In addition to selling Crundwell's assets—including horses and semen—and seizing horse show trophies, other awards, and show clothing, the DOJ plans to petition the court to allow the agency access to between $13,000 and $15,000 in frozen assets derived from American Paint Horse Association and American Quarter Horse Association breeders' trust registries for the 2012 through 2014 horse show seasons, said Jason Wojdylo, chief inspector of the U.S. Marshals Service Asset Forfeiture Division. Another $1,000 a year has been derived from a National Snaffle Bit Association breeder's incentive program, he said.

Some associations offer breeders' trust incentives and royalties which can generally be earned by the person who registers the animal and by the person who exhibits the horse in sanctioned shows. As a result, Crundwell has been able to earn royalties on animals she no longer owns, including horses seized by U.S. Marshals and sold at auction, Wojdylo said. Currently, the associations are issuing checks in Crundwell's name, but sending them to the U.S. Marshals Service. The court must release those assets in order for the Marshals office to distribute them, he said

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Written by:

Pat Raia is a veteran journalist who enjoys covering equine welfare, industry, and news. In her spare time, she enjoys riding her Tennessee Walking Horse, Sonny.

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