Revealed Comment on Illinois Funeral scam,-Your Funeral Guy

Funeral Scandal in the land of Lincoln-Illinois

A significant comment was made on last blog post.

“Funeral Guy and Friends,
The plot thickens here in the good ole’ Land of Lincoln.

Regarding the article in the Springfield State Journal-Register the comment from the AARP consumer advocacy lady Nancy Nelson. It would pay Ms. Nelson to do her homework on the facts of the IFDA Trust debacle. She obviously hasn’t a clue what went on and what is going on. She needs to know that we in Illinois do not need any additional oversight, because that is in place and suppose to be done by Dan Hynes and Company (Cemetery Care and Burial Trust Div.) at the Comptrollers Office, who still has some answering to do to those of out here who suffered substantial losses by not notifying us immediately when they saw the potential disaster awaiting us.

Funeral Corruption in Illinois

No doubt the Illinois Funeral and Burial Funds Act needs a serious update. Placing it under the watch of additional regulatory agency(s) IS NOT THE ANSWER. If all of the critics will remember IFDA sent us F.H. owners and account holders earning statements. while Schainker, Dixon, and the Fraternal Brothers and Sisters of the “Secret Society” (Board Members) were playing “Let’s Get The Commissions” of converting cash to insurance and placing us at risk.

It has been said by Hynes’ Office that he felt the Cemetery Care and Burial Trust Div. of his office needed to be regulated by another entity like the div. of insurance or banks and Trusts under the the Department of Finance and Profession Regulation. A Idea I tend to agree with, however I might prefer the IL Secretary of States Office. Anyway, that doesn’t matter right now, Change IS coming, to borrow a line from Mr. O’bama.

I’m going to ask a favor of you and to back off your harsh comments of Duane Marsh. He is walking though a mine field of issues and is being somewhat misguided by the remaining board members of IFDA who have chosen to ignore several resignation requests by it’s membership and stayed on for spite. In the very near future IFDA will have new people (hopefully) in place to try to set a new course and direction for IFDA, and the very people who deserve it, the membership and the families they serve. I think he is calling NFDA to ask for help in getting copies of Trust laws from throughout the land. Maybe Mr. Earl (Randall L Earl, NFDA executive secretary)offered his help, being the all important person he believes himself to be. Just what does Mr. Earl bring to the table of funeral service anyway??? I have yet to hear him speak at meetings of IFDA functions or show any leadership skills that tell me there is a true leader. That old saying comes to mind, “If you can’t dazzle ‘em with brilliance baffle ‘em with B.S.”.

I’ve missed something about our friend Mr. Earl. I see you have him as being is three lawsuits. I know of the Consumer Class Action and the Derivative Suit, what is the third if I can ask?

I just wonder when a Federal Grand Jury is going to take a look at this ordeal.

Thanks for the opportunity to express my thoughts.

Marsellus M710″

IFDA=Illinois Funeral Directors Association

NFDA=National Funeral Directors Association

Funeral Industry Blog |Your Funeral Guy

National Funeral Directors Assoc.rescue for IL.Funeral Ponzi-YourFuneralGuy.

The NFDA appears to be coming to meet the need of the IFDA to get them out of Scandal

Last weekend it was revealed that the National Funeral Directors Association has come to the aid of the IL Funeral Directors Ponzi Scheme.

This comes as no surprise as the NFDA Executive Secretary Randall L Earl is a key player in the scam.This is a sad situation for the Funeral Industry when the “center for funeral integrity” comes to the aid of funeral wrong doers.

This gives more strength to the admonition to the  Funeral Consumer:

Check out your funeral director in every funeral you are involved with.

Everytime the executive director of the IFDA(Illinois Funeral Directors Association opens his mouth he reveals the continuing  scandal. From a Springfield, IL Newspaper Article over  the Weekend.

“For nearly 30 years, the Illinois Funeral Directors Association managed a funeral trust fund that swelled to $300 million before the comptroller’s office, which regulates the pre-need funeral industry, discovered a deficit of nearly $40 million in 2006 and eventually ruled that the association should never have been allowed to manage the money”……

“Our association continues to explore with our members, and our national association, measures that may improve the pre-need process,” Marsh said. “At this time, we have not seen a formal proposal, but we certainly look forward to working with the legislative task force to seek potential improvements to the system.”- Duane Marsh executive director of the IFDA.

So the IFDA appears to be working with the NFDA. It appears to be so wrong because in 2006 and 2007 $250,000.00 dollars was misappropiated  to Management and then to the  IFDA Museum of Funeral customs under the  then and current direction of Randal L Earl,  the NFDA Executive Secretary.

Questions still remain about Mr.Earls activity as IFDA President and his being named as a Defendant in three Lawsuits against the IFDA. It would wise for Mr. Earl to step aside until the air clears from this scandal.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Costs blogs
randall l earl
national funeral directors association
nfda

Funeral Directors Picture From Flickr under the creative commons license from roger g1′s photostream

Convention Fees Indicate Funeral Industry Woes-yourfuneralguy

The National Funeral Director  Association’s

The Fragile Economy has made things difficult for the funeral industry. It has made end of life choices easier to negotiate.

lower convention fees indicate a hurting funeral industry. A significant drop in Convention rates between 2008 and 2009  indicate difficulties for the “recession proof industry”.

Although  people are still dying folks are demanding lower costs and choosing the low cost option of cremation. This puts the consumer in a strong position to negotiate funeral costs.

Funeral homes just like the National Funeral Directors have had to settle for lower rates and lowe margins.

This is the time to negotiated a lower cost funeral. Take advantage of the economy breaking  to  funeral consumers

Negotiate a lower cost funeral and pay less.

Here is the Comparison in Convention Rates between 2008 and 2009 according to the NFDA.

	NFDA Member	Non-member
Full conference registration	$475 (nearly 10 percent less than 2008)	$750 (no increase from 2008)
Full registration for each additional licensee	$390	$390
Non-licensed guest/spouse	$99 (43 percent less than 2008)	$99 (43 percent less than 2008)
One-day registration	$225 (nearly 31 percent less than 2008)	$299 (nearly 30 percent less than 2008)
Expo only	$99 (more than 43 percent less than 2008)	$99 (more than 43 percent less than 2008)
Student registration	$45 (same price as 2008)	$60 (same price as 2008)

From the NFDA Press Release

“Brookfield, Wis. – Bearing in mind the challenging economic circumstances funeral directors are facing…..the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is making its convention more affordable than ever.”

Psssst-funeral costs are more affordable than ever too.

Challenging economic circumstances make it easier for the consumer to negotiate funeral costs down under the average cost of a Funeral.

Funeral Industry| Funeral Costs Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

Your Funeral Guy has declared the Average cost of a Funeral in 2009 to bew $8,500 + dollars.

Revealed Differences between Funeral Preneed Insurance Scandals-YourFuneralGuy

Best not to purchase preneed,too much behind the scenes SHHH and Scandal

Preneed  or Prepaid  funerals has had major disasters. In 2008 the NPS  disaster took place came to a breaking point on September 22nd 2008.

In 2oo9 the Illinois Funeral Directors Association Historic Preneed Scandal came to ahead with the revelation of Lawsuits and major press coverage around February 1st.

NPS  and IFDA losses are estimated to be between 1 Billion and 1.6 Billion. The Funeral industry is often quoted as being a 15 billion dollar industry. So the loss in at National Prearranged services and IFDA s Preneed Trust is close to 10% of the funeral industry’s income.

Both the NPS and IFDA had ponzi like insurance scams. There are  main differences between the two is size. NPS lost over 1 Billion+ and the IFDA 59+million.

The IFDA used special key guy insurance life insurance policies. NPS used whole life and term insurance policies.

At NPS there was state investigations going back 10 years and more. Sure hope the IFDA mess investigations does not carry on that long.

In the NPS scenario it was known who the major players were and they were named often. This is not true of the IFDA Preneed Trust mess.

A good summary of the National Prearranged Services Scandal appeared in the State Journal Register over the Weekend.

“Consumers would buy funeral contracts from NPS that were funded with life insurance policies that paid out to funeral homes upon death. Under state laws, funeral homes that agreed to do business with NPS were obligated to pay for funerals if something went wrong. And things went horribly wrong last year…..The insurance policies were issued by two Texas-based companies affiliated with NPS. At some point, regulators say, policies were switched from whole life insurance, which has some value so long as premiums are paid and remains in force until death, to term life insurance, which expires after a set period of time and has no value unless someone dies. Financial ruin ensued.“

Any time funeral funds are misappropriated some one has to pay. It is usually the Funeral Director and the Funeral Consumer.

Sadly these events have moved the public away from trusting funeral professionals.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Costs Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Now Swine Flu Pandemic or Panic|WHO says what?

Swine Flu|Pandemic or Panic?

The world health organization (WHO) has put the planet as halfway there to a pandemic. Medical leaders around the world are on the alert. They have good reason. The Virus that is spreading among humans has never been seen before. Government leaders in the USA barely mentioned that in their news briefing Sunday. They did not mention that the virus, is a combination of swine, bird, and human flu viruses.

Sounds like a B Horror flick. WHO says were at the one half mark to Pandemic. Check out their website on Epidemic Alert and Response.

Google has provided a moment by moment swine flu map. and Bloomberg.Com is doing updates on an initial story.

It is sort of like saying the US Military is on alert. There may not be a crisis. It is the end of the flu season which is a good thing. One could say the world medical community is on alert.

One would not be honest if this was not mentioned. The source could be giant pig factories in Mexico. This virus can also be created easily in the lab. Terrorism may be a possibility. Mexico maybe a Terrorist Target to distract the government there from Drug wars. Do not expect to hear about the clandestine side of the situation. You can read more about Pandemic-Spread&Panic here.

Pray that it will not be like 1918 where 41 million people died and funeral directors became involved.

Funeral Indistry| Funeral Costs Blog R.Brian Burkhardt|YourFuneralGuy

Some States have Effective Preneed Laws-Yourfuneralguy

When calling others to honesty it is best to be sure you are honest with your self. Overall I oppose preneed because of abuses. One State is very effective in regulating  preneed. New York, unlike Illinois does not allow prearranged funds to be put in life insurance policies. All of the funds given to the funeral director are placed in trust  for the  individual.

New York has good laws when it Comes to Funeral Preneed.

According to the State Journal Register a Spring field Illinois Newspaper.

“Unlike in Illinois, where pre-need funeral trust funds have been spent on complex life insurance policies and some money ended up in the stock market, New York funeral directors have no fancy investments. There are no astronomical returns, no dizzying losses, no salesmen pitching funeral directors on can’t-miss investment schemes in hopes of collecting commissions.”

New York is one of the few in the United States that has good preneed Law. Bonnie McCullough of  the New York Funeral Directors Association Director has stated that guaranteed preneed is no longer realistic for the Funeral Director.

Sadly most  average Americans are generally shocked now that their Funeral Prices cannot be guaranteed.

Because our financial and investment systems are changing No LONGER Can a Preneed Salesman  or the Funeral Director say the classic preneed line  that most boomers have often heard.

“We will lock in today’s prices for your funeral. You will not have to pay more than what it costs today”

Guaranteed  Preneed is dead. Anyone in the funeral business who tells you different is lying. In the present environment, Funeral Directors must take Extraordinary steps NOW to be sure that they and their sales people present the truth. Because the slogan was repeated so long and in hard sell the funeral consumer is not going to like what they should hear.

For most consumers in the USA Funeral preneed should be avoided. A Preplanned Funeral however is a must.

All I can say is shame on the Illinois Funeral Directors and the Leaders mentioned here who got greedy with the IFDA Preneed Trust.

R. Brian Burkhardt.|Your Funeral Guy.

Those leaders mentioned here are: NFDA Executive Secretary. Randal L Earll, Geoffrey W. Hurd, Eric R. Trimble.and Charles S. Childs Jr. They have been  spoken to the press and covered in the press. They are named in IFDA lawsuits.

Revealed|Dan Brady Funeral Director,Preneed Reformer|yourfuneral guy

Illinois has ah an Historic Funeral Fund Trust Scandal 59 Million was lost and 8.6 Million was illegally talken for Management Fees.

Now IL.Rep Dan Brady, has been revealed as “Funeral Insider” who has moved to Reformer in the Historic Illinois Funeral Directors Preneed Scandal . Funeral Insider and State Representative Dan Brady has become somewhat of a hero. going  from IFDA Insider to the leading preneed reformer in Illinois.

Brady is the lead guy and sponsor of House Resolution 177  This is the bill  that created the  Funeral and Burial Pre-Arrangement Investigation Task Force. This bill was past by in a  Unanimous Vote  in The Illinois House this past Wednesday. This task force will investigate  the Loss of 59 million included  8.6 million in management illegally taken. The  IFDA Preneed Trust scandal was an active ponzi scheme. Calvert Funeral Homes is the lead funeral home in the Six Funeral Director lawsuit against the Illinois Funeral Directors Association making a legal claim for all this.

“Snippet” from the Pantagraph.com:

“A key figure in a legislative probe into problems within Illinois’ funeral industry was himself once active in the organization he now wants to ivestigate.
State Rep. Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican, was a member of the Illinois Funeral Directors Association in the late 1980s and served on one of its committees.”

In Blogs in summer 2008  about the  IFDA Scandal Your Funeral Guy treated him as a key player in the Ponzi Scam.

The Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington, IL has finally repoted on their two hometown players in the Historic Funeral Preneed Scandal in Illinois.

Now  Brady has distanced himself from the Illinois Funeral Directors Association and  become the lead guy calling for  preened reform. Rep. Brady has taken decisive action to put preneed reform in place in Illinois.

The Pantagraph News Organization has mentioned the home town players, Dan Brady and Calvert Funeral Homes in the Historic IFDA Preneed Trust Ponzi Scheme.

Funeral Industry|Funeralblog by Your Funeral Guy.

Source: Pantagraph.com

Now Funeral Fund Government Task Force Investigation-YourFuneralGuy

A cartoon from the State Journal Register Shows a prophecy on the Illinois Funeral Directors Association’s Death due to unanswered questions. That death has been predicted elsewhere. Guess Who?

The IFDA. Wonder what will be the the cause of Death on The IFDA’s Death Certificate? Is a Funeral Fund  Government Task Force Investigation going to make a  difference?

Does this mean the IFDA has had a funeral and a burial. Is Roland Burris's Political Burial Next?

The Illinois Funeral Directors Association Historic Preneed Fund Ponzi scheme ultimatetly will cost Funeral Directors and funeral purchasers money. Every time the administrators of a Funeral Preneed fund misappropiate money someone has to pay!

It does appear that Roland Burris has not paid his price for Lobbying for this scam. The Illinois legislature has set up  a government task  force to investigate the Funeral Fund Ponzi Scheme. This acccording  to a  SJR article entitled:

The Illinois House has set up Task Force to Investigate the HISTORIC ILLINOIS FUNERAL DIRECTORS TRUST FUND SCANDAL

Snippet from the  Springfield,IL State Journal Register Article.

“The Illinois House Wednesday agreed to set up a task force to investigate a troubled pre-need funeral trust fund and to recommend improvements in how the state regulates the pre-need funeral industry…….A report is due from the panel. by year’s end.”

The situation now is causing thousands of questions to be asked. The Britt Cartoon from the State Journal Register is almost prophetic showing a grave with the Tombstone Inscribed “IFDA UNANSWERED QUESTIONS RIP”

Here are some unanswered Questions:

What happens with this mess till years end?

Is Every one  at the IFDA under a gag order?

How is the IFDA TRUST being funded under Merrill Lynch?

Where are the promised new Merrill Lynch funding vehicles?

Why is not the current IFDA President James Bosma NOT speaking?

Why is the current NFDA(national funeral directors association) Secretary Randall L Earl, a National Funeral leader a key player in this mess not

May the Illinois Funeral Directors Association Rest in Peace

mentioned?

How can Funeral Director Charles S.Childs Jr continue as a REGULATOR for the STATE OF ILLINOIS when he is at the heart of the IFDA Ponzi Scam?

It seems to me that the only ones who know for sure what is going on at the IFDA are State Regulators.

Hopefully the Illinois  House Task Force will be aggressive in their investigation.

Funeral Costs| Funeral Industry Blog by Your Funeral Guy

The Britt Cartoon from the State Journal Register has some rights reserved.

randall l earl

nfda

Chicago Cubs Cemetery is for Burned Fans.YourFuneralGuy

This is the inspiration for the Chicago Cub Fan Cemetery, Center Field, Wrigley Field wall 400

Breaking News – The Chicago Cub fan cemetery opens today April 22, 2009 The cemetery will feature a replica of the Chicago Cub hand operated Scoreboard in Stain Glass.

The Chicago Cub Cemetery features a replica of the Wrigley Field Center Field  Wall. The cost of being laid to rest there is $1,295.oo. The REQUIREMENT TO REST IN PEACE is to be a BURNED Cub Fan.

I am not talking about being burned because the Cubs have not won a WORLD SERIES in a 100 years.

In order to store your Ashes in an “ETERNAL SKYBOX” you will have to undergo a cremation. That will be on top of the cost of resting in peace at “Beyond the Vines.” You will have to accept the fact that your body will be burned.

It really is not all that bad because with  a little shopping around  for cremation you can come in under the average cost of a funeral which I have declared to be $8,500.00+ in 2009.

You can view past and current pictures of the replica  cemetery center field brick wall at http://beyondthevines.net/

But there  is only 288 spaces available here hardly enough for the “die hard” Cub Fans in Chicago.

The Beyond the Vines Cemetery will have a Stained Glass replica of the Historic Wrigley Field Scoreboard.

The latest word is that the business owner now has his eye on Yankee Stadium.  From the Bugs and Cranks Blog

“The goal was to try and take away some of the gloominess and depression from a cemetery visit,” Beyond the Vines founder Dennis Mascari said in an interview. I’m not quite sure if he went about it the right way……Mascari unsurprisingly said he’s considering a Yankees-themed cemetery.”

Hope springs eternal for the Chicago Cubs.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog-Your Funeral Guy

Source:Bugs and Cranks Blog

Wrigley Field Center Field Photo from Flickr under the Creative Commons license

jimcchou’s photostream

NYSE:SCI Midwest Cemetery Mistreats Veteran’s Family-yourfuneralguy.

The World's Largest Cemetery Corporation ripped Memorials from a Veterans grave site without notifying the family.

“A Evansville Indiana Veterans  family has been mistreated by Service Corporation International(SCI). SCI is the World’s Largest  Funeral and Cemetery Corporation. Twice in one month SCI has been  exposed disrespecting the dead. Soldiers who die in  Military Conflict deserve a sacred honor.

It is hard to take. This time SCI removed sacred memorials attached to a grave stone of a soldier who died in Iraq. This all happened at Alexander Memorial Park in Evansville, Indiana. The article appeared at the courierpress.com.

It seems that SCI does not find it hard to mistreat Veterans Families. Earlier the month SCI was caught abusing Veterans Corpses at the Falls Church, Virginia National Funeral Home. This all went down in the midwest  in Evansville, Indiana. The title of the article in Evansville, Indiana’s Courier & Press sums what the SCI Cemetery did. “Mementos stripped from Grave“ In fact an IRAQ veteran’s mother’s memories were actually ripped from the grave site.

Snippet From the Article: Peggy “Hammond  vowed to turn the grave at Alexander Memorial Park on Evansville’s West Side into a welcoming refuge where family and friends could escape their grief: She set up small flags, placed a few personal mementos nearby and attached decals by Pfender’s name.

For more than three years, it worked, with friends, family and Hammond visiting frequently and finding comfort there, she said.”

But about two weeks ago, she arrived to find all of the items gone…..”

The Sad thing is that Peggy Hammond had spent &45,000 Dollars on the Grave Site Memorial.

The SCI Cemetery removed the memorials from the grave without no notice or Explanation to the Family!

It is no wonder that Service Corporations Cemetery operations were down 59% in the the last quarter of the year!

If you own NYSE: SCI stock you have a moral obligation to dump their stock!

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A FUNERAL HOME NEVER CHOOSE AN SCI FUNERAL HOME NO MATTER WHAT!

There is a strong case for grave desecration here.

Funeral industry| Funeral Costs Blog by Your Funeral Guy.