Sig Sauer Inc. has sued its ex-chairman Herbert M. Rudolf for more than $1 million, alleging that Rudolf used company funds to pay his personal tax bills and to fund hunting safaris in Africa.
The case is Sig Sauer Inc. v. Herbert M. Rudolf, 08-405, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire (Concord). The filing occurred Sept. 28 in federal court in Concord, New Hampshire.
Rudolf also served as the firearms maker’s chief executive officer for four years, according to court papers.
According to the complaint, “The hunting expenses include prepaid hunts for rhinoceros in Namibia in 2009 at a cost of $53,000, hunts in Zambia in 2010 at a cost of $12,150 and deposits on hunts in the year 2013.
The company wound up paying a total of about $1.2 million for Rudolph’s hunting fees and those of his companions, airfare, salary, bonuses and personal tax payments from 2001 until earlier this year, according to the suit. Rudolf was forced off the company’s board earlier this month after officials discovered the payments, according to the filing.
Sig Sauer has supplied semi-automatic pistols as the “standard-issue firearm” for the Secret Service since 1994. Other related companies include Blaser hunting and sniper rifles.
