President Joe Biden granted clemency to two notorious fraudsters from the Chicago area on Thursday: Rita Crundwell, former comptroller of Dixon, who embezzled nearly $54 million, and Eric Bloom, ex-head of Sentinel Management Group, who defrauded investors of over $665 million.
Biden’s decision to commute their sentences was part of a sweeping list of 39 pardons and 1,499 commutations. While the commutation does not erase their felony convictions, it immediately ends their sentences. These clemency actions were linked to individuals who were placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crundwell, now 71, pleaded guilty in 2012 to what was described as the largest municipal fraud in U.S. history. Over a decade, she stole $53.7 million from Dixon, using the funds to finance her lavish quarter horse business. She was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison in 2013. In 2020, Crundwell petitioned for early release due to health concerns and the pandemic, and after serving eight years, she was transferred to a halfway house in 2021. She would have completed her sentence in 2028.
Dixon’s U.S. Representative, Darin LaHood, criticized Biden’s commutation, arguing it undermines the justice system. He stated, “Crundwell took advantage of families struggling to make ends meet, living a life of luxury while stealing from taxpayers.”
Meanwhile, Eric Bloom, who ran Sentinel Management Group, was convicted of one of Chicago’s largest financial frauds. In 2012, he was found guilty of secretly involving his investors in increasingly risky financial deals, ultimately leading to the collapse of the company in 2007.
