A well known Funeral embezzlement lawsuit ended in a mistrial after 50 hours of Jury deliberation recently. Jurors were simply unable to agree on the charges against the defendant. This a related case to the Clayton Smart preneed embezzlement.
In this case the jury did not give a verdict, thus a mistrial.
Snippet
“A mistrial was declared Monday in the case against Mark Singer after nine days of jury deliberations failed to produce a verdict.
At about midday, jurors reported that they were unable to agree on the counts against Singer, and Criminal Court Judge W. Otis Higgs Jr. declared a mistrial, prosecutor Bill Bright said.
Bright said prosecutors want to put the case, involving the Forest Hill funeral businesses, before another jury. June 30 has been set for lawyers to report back to the court.
Singer is one of three men accused in Tennessee of stealing millions of dollars from trust funds used to back prepaid funerals and cemetery maintenance at the Forest Hill funeral businesses. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of property over $60,000, one count of theft of property over $60,000 and five counts of money laundering.
Jurors received the case on May 12 and had deliberated more than 50 hours over nine days.
During a 23-day trial, they heard complex testimony about finances as well as emotional accounts from victims in the case.
More than 13,000 people saw most of the value of their prepaid funeral policies temporarily wiped out after Forest Hill Funeral Home owner Clayton Smart declared in 2006 that the businesses would not honor the contracts in full.”
Here is another case of the Funeral Director taking your Preneed, Prepaid Funeral Funds. This is the classic Preneed Funeral Scam that has been pulled off by NPS, the Illinois Funeral Directors Association(IFDA), Randal L Earl Treasurer of the NFDA(National Funeral Directors Association) For the Museum of Funeral Customs and as is often the case in this story, the individual funeral employee.
A well-known Sanford man was arrested Thursday, accused of stealing more than $100,000 that was supposed to go toward funerals.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents say Bernard Mitchell worked for a Sanford funeral home for more than 40 years, and for the past three, they say he’s been stealing money from customers. They say that instead of putting the pre-paid money for burial plots and funerals into a state escrow account, which is state law, Mitchell pocketed lots of the money.
The Federal Trade Commision (FTC)in 2008 found funeral homes to be out of compliance with the law. The most basic compliance under the funeral rule is to give each customer a general price list and show the customer a casket price list.
Many funeral homes have little regard for the law only the money
FTC enforcement of the Funeral Rule is usually minimal. There is no excuse for these violations. Funeral Directors know the law and as shown below often have little regard for it.
FTC inspections during 2008 revealed a mixed compliance record:
In Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, two of 11 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; five had minor compliance deficiencies.
In Northeastern Arkansas, 11 of 15 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; four had minor compliance deficiencies.
In Orange County, California, two significant violations were found among 18 funeral homes inspected; nine had minor compliance deficiencies.
In Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, one of 16 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; seven had minor compliance deficiencies.
In Nassau County, New York, two of 18 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; three had minor compliance deficiencies.
In Toledo, Ohio, one of 15 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; nine had minor compliance deficiencies.
In San Antonio, Texas, seven of 11 funeral homes inspected had significant violations; one had minor compliance deficiencies.
Counting Down to Number 1 of the Top 100 Funeral News stories of 2009, the last count is 25-1. Several Last minute stories probably should be in the top 100.Some of those posts maybe, Batesville enters the cemetery (vault) business,the almost funerals of Flight 253, returning Iraq Veterans and the Funeral Business ,The Batesville Demise of 09, funerals from the Flight of AF 447, National memorial Services in 2009 , as well as SCI and their special Deals with the FTC.
The most important stories of 2009 are Walmart Selling caskets and the Facebook Memorial. The handling of Digital Assets in a funeral arrangement will be an Important Funeral News Story in the years ahead. I have received threats, threats of lawsuits, website hacks, and been booted out of forums because of my Funeral News stories written from the Consumers perspective.
Here ae the Top 25 Funeral Stories of 2009:2(5.25)
24 . Service Corporation International, mishandled the Kennedy Funeral From a funeral directors perspective Service corporation International totally mishandled the Kennedy Funeral in Front of 4 Living Presidents! They Nation watched and waited in wasted air time because Teddy did not get to the cemetery on time.
13. SCI Denies wrong doing in Veterans Corpse Abuse ScandalService Corporation International seems never to admit wrong doing and finds a way to pay themselves out of any scandal- EvenVeterans Corpse Abuse for those headed to Arlington National Cemetery from National Funeral Home.
11.Brittany Murphy Death and Funeral|has celebrity death gone too far n 2009?The death of this young star near the end of 2009 is the focus many, as the world focused on Celebrities and their funerals in 2009.
10.Service Corporation International’s Burr Oak Cem. ScandalThe Scandal at Service Corporation International outside Los Angeles at Eden Memorial Park. was worse than Burr Oak cemetery Scandal outside Chicago. This Scandal received little National Press.
4.Michael Jackson MemorialThe Michael Jackson Memorial Service may be the most viewed Funeral Of All Time.
3.Sadly|Pics,Places,Logo Virginia SCI Body Desecrations This World’s Largest Funeral Corporation, Service Corporation International is given the Nickname Big Death in 2009 by the company employees. In Houston SCI is known the Enron evil. The Funeral company’s reputation for scandal is known to most Americans.
2. When someone dies setup a Facebook MemorialThe Facebook memorial has awakened the Funeral Industry to the importance of the online obituary, Facebook participation and digital assets.
1 .Walmart Selling caskets online Walmart selling caskets has frightened the Funeral Industry. Industry leadership says no big deal but the fact that caskets are being sold at Walmart has opened the mind of consumers to funeral purchase options beyond the Funeral Director.
Did I miss your funeral story? Please let me know with a comment.
Disagree? Leave a comment.
Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.
The remains of 100 people from a bankrupt funeral home have been found in a Storage Locker in the Atlanta Area. This is an example funeral directors not showing proper respect of the dead.
Cremated remains need to be picked up, buried sacttered or put on the shelf. They Should not be left in a storage locker.
It is always best when someone dies and is cremated to pick up the remains. Cremation is the best way to come in under the average cost of a funeral. Cremated remains need to be picked up or disposed of within a certain time frame according to funeral law.
The remains, which date back 20 years or more, were found in a suburban storage unit.
It is believed the family that operated the Atlanta, Georgia funeral home placed the remains in the storage units, along with furniture, files and other items, over a year and a half ago when the funeral home declared bankruptcy.
Representatives of the funeral home said the remains had been stored so families would have the opportunity of retrieving them if they so wished.
The coroner’s office has been trying to notify bereaved families of the existence of the unclaimed remains which, according to law, should have been turned over to a coroner to be buried within 60 days from the cremation.-via www.kazakhstannews.net
Funeral Industry|Funeral News Blog by Your Funeral guy
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