Washington – The U.S. Marshals Service is selling the first 93 of the Rita Crundwell herd of quarter horses via an online auction starting noon Friday. The auction, at www.professionalauction.com, closes on Tuesday for 46 of the horses and Wednesday for 47 of the horses. A live auction to sell the remainder of Crundwell’s horses, more than 300, will take place in Dixon, Ill., Sept. 23 and 24.
Crundwell, 59, was one of the leading breeders of quarter horses in the U.S. Formerly the comptroller of Dixon, Ill., Crundwell has been federally charged with wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Northern Illinois. Crundwell’s indictment charges her with fraudulently obtaining more than $53 million from the city since 1990 and using the proceeds to finance her horse breeding business and lavish lifestyle.
“Managing a herd this size since May has been challenging, but mostly the same caretakers and veterinarians that were managing the horses for the defendant have been managing the horses while they’ve been in Marshals custody. We are confident that we have maintained the value and quality of the herd for the thousands of people in the quarter horse industry who have been waiting for this opportunity,” said U.S. Marshal Darryl McPherson of the Northern District of Illinois.
Should the government prevail in its civil and criminal actions against Crundwell, net proceeds from the sale of the defendant’s forfeited assets will be applied toward restitution to the city of Dixon.
Three of the quarter horses up for sale in the online auction are, left to right, She Scores (lot 15), Sudden Instinct (lot 39), and Good Will Moxie (lot 3).
For more information, pictures, terms and conditions on the auctions, go to
www.professionalauction.com.
For more information on the federal case, go to:
http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/rockford/2012/pr0501_01.pdf
http://www.usmarshals.gov/assets/2012/protective_order.pdf
