Here is a brief video in expalining the latest in the Clayton Smart, Funeral Embezlment criminal trial.
Smart took 22 million in Funeral trust funds in multiple states.
This man is a living example of why you should not purchase funeral preneed.
Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
The SKY Has fallen on The Funeral Industry
The National Funeral Directors Association in a survey found The sale of preneed(Prepaid Funerals) policies to be down, Cremation up with the rise of the Lower Cost Casket Purchase. It has been long stated here that the guaranteed preneed is dead.
“A Web-based study conducted by the National Funeral Directors Association appears to back Kruger’s assertions that families are choosing less expensive caskets, and choosing cremation more often, and having reduced services and related events.
The study was conducted a year ago, said Jessica Koth, spokeswoman for the NFDA.
Nearly half of the national association members (or 48.9 percent) have experienced decreases in 2008 in the sales of “pre-need,” or pre-paid, funeral contracts compared to that of 2007, according to the study.
But more than half of the respondents, or 57.4 percent, of NFDA members said the economy has affected their existing pre-paid contracts, the study reads.”via www.ivpressonline.com
In the past the NFDA released survey in formation on funeral cost to the general public. Not the case with this study.
In a recent FUNERAL INDUSTRY forum post at Connecting Directors.Com I was accused of stating that the Sky is falling on the Funeral Industry, To which I replied “The Sky is not Falling The SKY HAS FALLEN ON THE FUNERAL INDUSTRY!
Within hours I was removed from the funeral forum at Connecting Directors.:-)
In 2009 THE SKY IS FALLING ON THE FUNERAL BUSINESS was brought home by the Overall Revenue Reports of the Big Three: Stewart Enterprises Inc, Service Corporation International and Batesville Casket Company.
Funeral Industry|Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.
White out was tool used in multimillion$$ funeral scam according to the FBI
A “funeral guy” has committed a multimillion dollar funeral crime using “White Out” a tool that many have in there home. Randall Sutton The President of National Prearranged Services(NPS) used White Out to alter documents to insurance policies and steal millions. This is according to the Department Of Justice Press Release.
The NPS Funeral Scandal has cost 7 states up to 600 million dollars in State Guaranty Assurance payments. A Civil Funeral Preneed Lawsuit has been filed in Federal Court to recover the money.
The President of National Prearranged Randall Sutton has been arrested and indicted. One of the tools used “was White Out” or Correction fluid in the fraud scheme taking money from pre-need policyholders and funeral homes.
From the “FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation Press Release” :
“According to the indictment, beginning in 1998 and continuing until 2008, Sutton and others, defrauded National Prearranged Services’ customers, states’ guaranty funds, and funeral homes doing business with National Prearranged Services………For example, at the time they purchased prearranged funeral services, many customers completed applications for life insurance policies indicating they were making payment in full for insurance policies that would fund their funerals.
Employees at National Prearranged Services, with the knowledge and under the direction of Sutton, simply whited-out the indications that payments had been made in full and altered the documents to make it appear as though the customers had made partial payments. The altered documents were forwarded to life insurance companies such as Lincoln Memorial Life, who adopted the policies and assumed the obligation to pay a lump sum at the time of the customer’s death. National Prearranged Services, meanwhile, diverted the difference between the true full payments and the falsified partial payments from the customer’s insurance policy, thus retaining the vast majority of the customer’s lump-sum payment while transferring the obligation of future pay.
Funeral Industry |Funeral blog by yourfuneralguy
“
A cremation society is giving free teddy bears to hurt and dying kids. This is another promotion gone too far. The Teddy Bears are named after a Neptune Society customer who has been cremated. The Teddy Bears are named on the one year anniversary of the persons death.
This is the same type of greed behind funeral and cemetery scandals. I found this in my local paper:
“The Neptune Society, the largest independent cremation company in the nation based in Des Plaines, is bringing comforting teddy bears to Chicago area children who are hurt, frightened or alone. The Neptune Society Teddy Bear Program names a teddy bear in honor of every person whose death care is handled by Neptune on the one-year anniversary of their death. The teddy bears are then donated to organizations such as Rainbow Hospice in Park Ridge and local fire departments to be given to a child in need.”
This type of marketing in death care is unacceptable. Even if it is a free give away.
They have had problems like this before. Several years ago they set out a mailer saying you could win a free cremation if you sent in a form with your contact information. This year they were fined 1.2 million in a preneed insurance scam by the State of Colorado.
This is deathcare gone too far. Where will it end?
Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy.
News Report interperted NFDA Survey incorrectly
The News Report quoted in the last Blog post contains an error according to the National Funeral Directors Association. The reporter did not interpert the survey shared with him by the NFDA correctly.
Yesterday I received notification from Jessica Koth Spokesman for the NFDA that the report in the Bakesfield Californian.
The Story should have read:
“A survey done recently by the association(NFDA) found that almost 50 percent of funeral directors nationwide saw a decrease in (PRENEED) sales from 2007 to 2008.”
Pre-need sales are different from sales of regular funerals. Preneed sales refer to prearranged funerals where the funeral is paid for in advance.
Jessica Koth,NFDA issues Correction
Comment from Jessica Koth: “The reporter made an error in interpreting the survey report we shared with her. The survey report showed that almost half of the respondents (48.9%) have experienced decreases in 2008 PRENEED sales compared to 2007.
We did not ask about over funeral sales in our survey – only preneed sales.
Jessica Koth
NFDA Public Relations Manager”We always do everything possible to give you accurate information.
Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
Jerrold Strehl on Michael Jackson Patruck Swayze-most popular in Death-Your Funeral Guy
Norene Oregon on Coming in under the Average Cost of a funeral:Grave Rob Yourself-YourFuneralGuy
Jane Bourke on Legacy.Com, online obituary A swindle?-Your Funeral Guy
tom gosse on Virginia SCI Funeral Horror-Honesty, Management, Embalming Problem-YourFuneralGuy
smiley face clip art on Actor Dennis Hopper Dead-No Funeral Arrangements Yet|YourFuneralGuy
on Michael Jackson Patruck Swayze-most popular in Death-Your Funeral Guy
on Coming in under the Average Cost of a funeral:Grave Rob Yourself-YourFuneralGuy
on Legacy.Com, online obituary A swindle?-Your Funeral Guy
on Virginia SCI Funeral Horror-Honesty, Management, Embalming Problem-YourFuneralGuy
on Actor Dennis Hopper Dead-No Funeral Arrangements Yet|YourFuneralGuy
