"Plus, any civil actions against the estate won't be a slam dunk."
They'd have a hard time proving 'injury' if the courts recognize that a 'dead' person is considered never to have been a defendant to begin with.
I believe civil actions are distinct from criminal in that regard.
I was more talking about the ability to use a criminal verdict as conclusive evidence of fraud in a civil matter (collateral estoppel? judicial estoppel? --- not a lawyer, so I know not what the fancy word is).