Funeral Director guilty of Scatterring wrong ashes-Your Funeral Guy

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A Funeral director has been found guilty of desecrating human remains by substituting other remains for ashes  scattered  by mistake.

As innocent as this mistake may seem it does indicate a lack of respect for the dead

“A Libertyville funeral director has pleaded guilty to desecrating human remains for substituting ashes that had been buried in a cemetery for some that had been mistakenly scattered over a Wisconsin lake.

After entering her plea Thursday in Lake County Circuit Court to the class three felony, a judge sentenced 32-year-old Marcee Dane of the Burnett Dane Funeral Home to 30 days in jail and 150 days of home monitoring. She was also fined $10,000.

The Chicago Tribune reports Dane has surrendered her funeral director’s license, and can’t work at the family business during her probation.

via www.chicagotribune.com

Funeral industry| Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

National Prearranged Services Executives Indicted-Your Funeral Guy

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National Prearranged Services  (NPS) Executives have been indicted. These are responsible for 600-100 million dollars of preneed insurance funds.

ST. LOUIS | Officers at a prearranged funeral business defrauded customers, funeral homes and states out of as much as $600 million, according to a 50-count federal indictment announced Monday.

The U.S. attorney’s office in St. Louis announced indictment on fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and other charges against Randall Sutton, 65; Sharon Nekol Province, 66; Doug Cassity, 64; his son Brent Douglas Cassity, 43; Howard Wittner, 73; and David Wulf, 58.

All six defendants are from St. Louis County, and all were controlling officers for National Prearranged Services Inc., based in Clayton.

Brent Cassity is listed in the Missouri secretary of state’s office as the owner of Mount Washington Forever Funeral Home in Independence, which closed in July.

via www.kansascity.com

This is an incriminate story preneed  funeral theft and fraud. Incredibly the main tool in this incredible insurance theft were bottles of white out.

Officers of this company are now part of the criminal Lawsuit.

Funeral Industry| Funeral News | funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

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California Master Trust-Who owns preneed?-Your Funeral Guy

California State Capital Image via Wikipedia

A lawsuit has been filed in the California Master Trust Situation. At issue is who owns  a preneed Contract? Does the Funeral Home own the contract? Do the people who control the trust? Does the Funeral consumer.

Sacramento, California–On November 10, 2010, the Funeral Directors Service Corporation (“FDSC”) filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court against the Department of Consumer Affairs, Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (“the Bureau”). The lawsuit asks the Court to resolve disputed findings contained in an audit report issued on March 18, 2010, following the Bureau’s audit of the California Master Trust.

Mark Kuhn, President of FDSC, stated: “The California Master Trust, which has been in business since 1985, meets the needs of families who wish to set aside funds to pay for funerals in advance, alleviating anxiety and decision-making at the time of a loved one’s death. The Bureau’s audit findings are damaging to the Trust’s reputation and its ability to serve the consumers whose investments are safeguarded within the Trust.”

Kuhn further commented: “We have made extensive efforts to resolve our dispute with the Bureau regarding these audit findings, but the Bureau has threatened to take action against the Trust and the licenses of the individual funeral establishments who participate in the Trust. We are seeking the Court’s assistance in determining that the Bureau’s audit findings are wrong and unenforceable. We believe the audit is based on improper interpretations by the Bureau of the applicable laws and regulations governing California pre-need funeral trusts.”

For further information, contact Grace J. Bergen of Knox, Lemmon, Anapolsky & Schrimp, LLP, attorneys for FDSC.

gbergen@klalawfirm.com

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• California Funeral Homes Scandal-YourFuneralGuy (yourfuneralguy.wordpress.com)

Casket Cartel Continues in the USA!!-YourFuneralGuy

Batesville Casket Company is the largest Casket Distributer in the United States Image via Wikipedia

The casket cartel continues in the United States of America. A Texas judge has dismissed a  lawsuit case against Batesville Casket Company. The case has to do with casket price Fixing.

Per normal the head of Hillenbrand, Inc had to gloat, and brag about his casket cartel company(my opinion)- Batesville Casket Co.

We are very pleased with the dismissal of this suit,” said Kenneth A. Camp, president and chief executive officer of Hillenbrand. “From the beginning of this extraordinarily long process, we knew the plaintiffs’ allegations were baseless. As we will always do, we aggressively defended our fair and ethical practice of selling Batesville-branded products only through licensed funeral homes.”

via www.prnewswire.com

My opinion is Calling Batesville’s  casket selling policies fair and ethical (in my opinion only) is  false, a big  bold face lie. The information on discounts Batesville gives to the Funeral Home are not available to the purchaser in most cases,  the consumer hurting in their grief.

Hillenbrand, Inc and Batesville Casket Company leave the door wide open for Funeral directors  to take advantage of funeral consumer.(Obscene Profit Margins).

From my experience selling Caskets, the markup is between 100 an d 500 percent.  No one but insiders know each funeral home’s casket markup. Batesville gets out of any accountability on this issue, by saying it is  to the Funeral  Home to set the price. Meanwhile the discounts Batesville gives to each funeral provider are not available to the consumer speaking from my experience.

So how may one defeat any casket cartel?

Find a funeral provider who will share the markup on their caskets. In Most Cases that will be a lower cost funeral provider.

Be sure to price caskets, at the funeral home, third party, and on the internet.

Funeral Homes are required by Law to accept third party caskets.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

There is no way that a Casket Cartel is fair and ethical. Funeral Director sales exclusivity is not Free market activity, that is the opinion of Your Funeral Guy

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Monks vs Funeral Industry(Video)-Your Funeral Guy

In Louisiana  Catholic Monks are taking on the Funeral Industry.  It is illegal for anyone to sell caskets in Louisiana who is not a Funeral Director. The Monks at St Joseph Abbey just want to support themselves. But the Casket Cartel in the Funeral Industry has the support of the State of Louisiana. They Have to turn there Abbey into a Funeral Home in order tio continue.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News |Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

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Your Funeral Guy Exclusive:Service Corporation International Trial Underway

There is a trial taking  place in LA  concerning the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery Scandal.  It is a hearing for a preliminary injunction against the cemetery. At this California Cemetery it has been reported that over 500 graves were desecrated. This scandal was first revealed in September 2009.

The trial dates are May 13th and May 14th 2010. Your Funeral Guy has confirmed that the trial is taking place.

Up to 500 Graves desecrated here

This scandal, involving the Service Corporation International, (NYSE:SCI) Facility at Eden Memorial Park in California along with the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal outside of Chicago led to Congressman Bobby Rush introducing the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act of 2009 in the US House of Representatives. The Bill HR 3655 is under consideration in the US Congress.

Eagan O’Malley & Avenatti LLP (“EOA”) is the law firm handling the class action Lawsuit.

The depositions completed thus far in this case have unfortunately confirmed our worst fears.  The evidence indicates there has been a pervasive practice of grave disturbances and desecrations at Eden Memorial Park Cemetery spanning an approximate 30 year time period.  A number of groundskeepers and supervisors have admitted under oath they routinely damaged and broke burial vaults containing human remains, sometimes as much as two to three times per week.  These groundskeepers and supervisors have further admitted that many times this would cause human remains, including bones, to spill out of the broken burial vaults.  According to the sworn testimony, the groundskeepers were often instructed by the cemetery to discard any remaining bones, pieces of burial shrouds or broken casket remnants in the cemetery dump located at the northern most section of the cemetery.

Because the practice was pervasive, the cemetery did not keep records of which burial vaults were broken.  Moreover, because the vaults are buried under ground, it is impossible to visually identify, from above the ground, which graves were disturbed.  There are, however, non-invasive procedures available to allow family members to identify broken vaults without disturbing the decedent’s grave and we are consulting with experts about the possible use of these procedures.

At our request, the Court has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing or “mini-trial,” on May 13 and 14, 2010

via www.edenclaims.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Soon More to come in Illinois Funeral Directors Lawsuit|YourFuneralGuy

The problem with settling preneed fraud in Court is that it may take years before justice is served.

The  Class Action Lawsuit against the Illinois Funeral Directors Association will be moving in forward in the next several days and the next several months.

THE PROBLEM WITH SETTLING THIS MATTER IN THE COURTS IS THAT IT TAKES YEARS FOR THE PERPETRATORS OF PRENEED SCAMS(IFDA LEADERS) TO BE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE>

Merrill Lynch can still be investigated for it’s role in the mess. The Comptroller’s Agreement is now null and void-and another agreement between Merrill Lynch  and the Illinois Department of Insurance may be Null and void as well. Merrill Lynch may have to pay for it’s role in the IFDA Preneed  TrustPonzi Scheme.  The Judge in the IFDA Lawsuit has in instructed the 6 Illinois Funeral Directors led by Calvert Funeral Homes to file an amended complaint by March 24th 2009

The defendants the IFDA and it’s leaders must file a response to the complaint by April 21st, 2010.

There will be a status hearing on this matter On May 5th, 2010.

Funeral Industry|FuneralNews|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral guy Funeral Director, Illinois and Virginia.

President Obama, Clinton Attend Jean Biden Funeral-YourFuneralGuy

President Obama, wife Michelle an Former President Bill Clinton attended the Funeral of the mother of Vice President Joe Biden. Biden gave the Eulogy for his mother Jean Biden.

President Obama and wife Michelle (sporting a new hairstyle) attended the funeral today of Joe Biden’s mother, Jean, who died Friday at age 92.

Former President Bill Clinton also attended the service, as did nearly 500 others.

via content.usatoday.com

Funeral Industry|Funeral News | funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Cemetery Industry Executive Gets House Arrest for taking 20+Million$-YourFuneralGuy

This story shows that you must be very careful who you trust when making a funeral industry purchase.

The story here is a prime example on why the funeral consumer should be careful when purchasing anything funeral. Why is it that a Funeral|Cemetery Industry professional whole stole over 20 million gets to continue in the business? How is it he only got Work release, House arrest, and gets to go on  in the Industry? This sort of thing and the justice given spreads public distrust of the Funeral Profession.

Maybe the  distrust is justified. The Funeral and Cemetery Industry has refused to police itself. The National Funeral Direcetors Association (NFDA)has failed miserably here. Nelms owned funeral homes. They have failed miserably on the policing of their own members. This story is  a compelling reason why the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights needs to pass the Congress.

Snippet:

A Marion Superior Court judge today sentenced the owner of an Indianapolis-based cemetery company to four years on work-release and four years on home detention.

But before Robert Nelms serves much of the sentence, he faces sentencing in a separate case in Michigan involving $4.2 million in misappropriated trust money from a cemetery in Grand Rapids.

A key part of Nelms’ plea agreement is replenishing more than $20 million drained from the trust funds of Indiana cemeteries and funeral homes after his purchase of Memory Gardens Management Corp. five years ago. Those trusts were intended to cover customers’ prepaid burial services and ensure the upkeep of cemetery grounds, including at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens in Greenwood.

via www.indystar.com

StoneM0r  a Funeral Corporation  is purchasing the properties Nelms owned on the condition of restoring prepaid consumer contracts.Restoring the trusts is most important. Folks paid for their funerals and have the right to have them without paying again

Funeral Industry|Funeral News|Funeral blog by Your Funeral Guy

Connecting Directors.com says Funeral Industry accepting Third Party Caskets?-YourFuneralGuy

Connecting Directors.Com has posted negatively on the Funeral Consumers Alliance

In a Blog posts that attacks the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) and comments that discuss how to get rid of this organization, Connecting Directors.com states that the funeral industry is accepting Third Party Caskets.  From the Web Reaction and resentment  from Funeral Homes and directors on Walmart Selling Caskets, this is simply  not the case.

I think we learned from the article I posted yesterday (Funeral Director Reacts to Handling First Walmart Casket, You Might Be Surprised)that funeral professionals are open to and willing to accept third-party caskets.

via www.connectingdirectors.com

The FCA states that third party caskets are good for the consumer. This is true. You can have a beautiful casket for much less and come in under the average cost of a funeral by purchasing a casket at a place other than the funeral home.

In the Case of the Burr Oak Cemetery Scandal, and the Bereaved Consumers Bill of Rights Act  the Funeral Consumers Alliance was one of the first to speak up for consumer rights.

The Funeral Consumers Alliance has long been hated by Funeral Industry Insiders. Their Lawsuits have hurt Batesville, Service Corporation International,SCI and pointed out consumer ripoffs by these companies.

If funeral directors were more pro consumer and focused less on their own profit as the Connecting Directors  post above does, the funeral industry would not be in decline and there would be less need for the FCA and  more profit for the Funeral Directors. It also would create a  better situation for Funeral Consumer.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy