If we want to sue a person whose husband sold us a car, that wasn''t what it was supposed to be and he is dead, can we sue her and the estate?

Bought a chevelle from a guy in Ohio in 2009. Got it, complained it wasn''t what it was represented as. Long story short-it was to go in front of Federal Grand Jury on Wednesday, found out he died. There were 4 things they were going to charge him with- 1. odometer tampering 2. telecommunications fraud 3. tampering with records 4. theft by deception Found out he died. How do we go about suing his wife and the estate? Would it be a civil case, or what type of case? And do you think we would stand a good chance at getting some of our money back? We have ALL the documentation and the Officer said that he would be willing to testify as well.