Must be a huge change in fortunes, to one day have the greatest horse on the planet then go to jail for life.
Curlin part-owners jailed for combined 45 years
WILLIAM GALLION and Shirley Cunningham Jr, the owners of Einstein, a multiple Grade 1 winner, and part-owners of Curlin, Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008, have been sentenced to 25 years and 20 years in prison, respectively. There is no parole in the US federal system.
In April, Gallion, 58, and Cunningham, 54, already disbarred as lawyers, were convicted of defrauding over 400 clients, the intended beneficiaries of a $200 million settlement with the manufacturer of fen-phen, a diet drug found to cause serious heart damage.
Gallion and Cunningham, who own racehorses under the banner of Midnight Cry Stable, took $94.6 million for themselves and others. A further $20 million was paid into a foundation which Gallion and Cunningham, described by the sentencing judge as guilty of "unbridled greed," paid themselves to manage. It is believed to be one of the biggest frauds in US history.
The two men were ordered to pay more than $127 million in restitution and another $30 million to the government.
Curlin, originally bought for $57,000, was named after Cunningham's great-grandfather, CharlieCurlin, a slave who fought in the American Civil War. Gallion and Cunningham sold 80 per cent of Curlin for $3.5 million but retained 20 per cent of the subsequent Preakness Stakes, Breeders' Cup Classic and Dubai World Cup winner.
Curlin now stands at Lane's End Stud, Kentucky, at a fee of $75,000. Lawyers acting for the victims of the fraud are expected to attempt to claim the value of the horses owned by Midnight Cry Stable for their clients.
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