After Dixon, Illinois, comptroller Rita Crundwell receives her sentencing, the city sues the accounting firm that audited its finances. One accountant at the firm, Ronald Blaine, handled both Dixon’s finances and Crundwell’s personal taxes. The lawyer handling the case discovered false invoices given to the auditors by Crundwell — and they were obviously different from the official documents: The fake papers were missing government seals, had large and even-numbered payment amounts, invoiced for major construction projects that never occurred, and even had basic misspellings. But why did the auditors overlook these clues? Possibly due to Blaine’s personal relationship with Crundwell.
Listen to previous episodes here:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6