President Joe Biden Commutes Sentences of Two Notorious Fraudsters
President Joe Biden has commuted the sentences of two individuals convicted of fraud, including Rita Crundwell, the former comptroller of Dixon, Illinois, who embezzled nearly $54 million from the town to fund a lavish lifestyle, and Eric Bloom, the former leader of a Northbrook management firm who defrauded investors of more than $665 million.
Crundwell, 71, pleaded guilty in 2012 to the largest municipal fraud in the country’s history, admitting to stealing $53.7 million from the city over more than a decade and using the money to finance her quarter horse business and lavish lifestyle. She was sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison, but had served about eight years behind bars before being released to a halfway house in 2021. Crundwell’s sentence was set to expire in October 2028.
Bloom, 59, was convicted by a jury in 2012 of the largest single financial fraud in the history of Chicago’s federal court. Prosecutors alleged that as head of Sentinel Management Group, Bloom secretly began exposing his well-heeled customers to an increasingly risky mix of leveraged deals, leading to the company’s collapse. Bloom was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but had been serving out his sentence at a residential reentry facility in Florida and was set to be released in May 2026.
The commutations were part of a larger list of 39 pardons and 1,499 commutations announced by the White House, which stated that the commutations were for individuals who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic. The commutations do not wipe out the individuals’ felony convictions, but end their sentences immediately.
