Judge gives ex-escort three extra months to report to prison after fraud conviction

Like countless others, Crystal Lundberg’s life was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What’s more, the coronavirus outbreak put her on an even tighter timeline to get her affairs in order before she had to report to federal prison after her wire-fraud conviction last year.

But with so much of the state’s business and legal infrastructure slowed by the virus, it was an impossible task, her attorney said.

U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo had ordered Lundberg to report to the Pekin federal prison in downstate Illinois by June 12. Earlier this month, however, Bucklo opted to give Lundberg an extra three months to allow her time to get her affairs in order before the start of her 53-month sentence.

She now must report to Pekin on Sept. 30, federal court records show.

Lundberg, a former escort, was found guilty last year of fraudulently spending millions of dollars on exotic vacations, jewelry, plastic surgery and designer apparel. That money came from Nemera, a drug device company with a plant in Buffalo Grove.

Scott Kennedy, a former financial executive at Nemera, allowed Lundberg to use his corporate credit card. Kennedy, who eventually testified against Lundberg, hired her as an escort and allowed Lundberg and her daughters to move in with him.

Lundberg’s attorney, Andréa Gambino, said Lundberg needed more time before reporting to prison to allow her to transfer ownership of her salon business to her oldest daughter, who turned 18 earlier this month.

Additionally, Lundberg wants to arrange for her oldest daughter to assume guardianship of her younger daughter, Gambino wrote.

“During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Ms. Lundberg has not been able to work, she has fallen behind on her rent payments and needs to recover her business so that her daughters can take care of themselves while she is serving her sentence,” Gambino wrote. “Her original plans were to have all of these issues resolved by the coming week, but due to circumstances entirely outside her control, she has suffered a serious setback in preparing for the security and welfare of her daughters.”

Lundberg initially was ordered to report to prison on Jan. 20, but that deadline was extended, as well.