Fraud in Dixon Illinois: Who’s to Blame? Case Study
Introduction In the city of Dixon, Illinois, the trusted treasurer, and comptroller, committed a crime where $53 million was embezzling over two decades There were few key problems in the story such as, lack of ethics, conflict of interest and what’s more important, lack of control from Rita Crundwell, her accountant Clifton Gunderson, and Fifth Third Bank. Crundwell puts her personal interests above others. She gained trust and decided to abuse her power. The money that should be used for Dixon City was used in her interests. Yes, it is unacceptable, but she’s not the only one to blame. Clifton Gunderson failed to identify the suspicious activities, and that’s what “Devon Bruce called negligence …show more content…
In 1990 Crundwell was expanding her interest in horses and later opened the unauthorized RSCDA, using it for personal gain (Hancox, 2014). She used false invoices to steal the money from the city budget. She did not get caught for stealing and began stealing more and more. The fraud was uncovered in 2011 by a city clerk who noticed suspicious transactions when Crundwell was absent. Later, the FBI arrested Crundwell and that was when the investigation began. Using a SWOT analysis, this situation can show what strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats it has in the Dixon city. SWOT Analysis Strengths It shows that people are truly believed to be their leader, even though Mayor Burke had some questions about how Crundwell can maintain so many championship horses (Sawayda, 2015). After Crundwell was arrested and the whole city knew about her fraud, people didn’t lose faith in the government, which can indicate a strong community. Weaknesses The situation clearly shows the lack of financial oversight, transparency, and dependence on a single individual. Since the money was stolen, I cannot say this is what caused the failure. Also, the accountants were negligent in their work,
Introduction In the city of Dixon, Illinois, the trusted treasurer, and comptroller, committed a crime where $53 million was embezzling over two decades There were few key problems in the story such as, lack of ethics, conflict of interest and what’s more important, lack of control from Rita Crundwell, her accountant Clifton Gunderson, and Fifth Third Bank. Crundwell puts her personal interests above others. She gained trust and decided to abuse her power. The money that should be used for Dixon City was used in her interests. Yes, it is unacceptable, but she’s not the only one to blame. Clifton Gunderson failed to identify the suspicious activities, and that’s what “Devon Bruce called negligence …show more content…
In 1990 Crundwell was expanding her interest in horses and later opened the unauthorized RSCDA, using it for personal gain (Hancox, 2014). She used false invoices to steal the money from the city budget. She did not get caught for stealing and began stealing more and more. The fraud was uncovered in 2011 by a city clerk who noticed suspicious transactions when Crundwell was absent. Later, the FBI arrested Crundwell and that was when the investigation began. Using a SWOT analysis, this situation can show what strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats it has in the Dixon city. SWOT Analysis Strengths It shows that people are truly believed to be their leader, even though Mayor Burke had some questions about how Crundwell can maintain so many championship horses (Sawayda, 2015). After Crundwell was arrested and the whole city knew about her fraud, people didn’t lose faith in the government, which can indicate a strong community. Weaknesses The situation clearly shows the lack of financial oversight, transparency, and dependence on a single individual. Since the money was stolen, I cannot say this is what caused the failure. Also, the accountants were negligent in their work,