World’s Largest Funeral Corporation Real Losses not In Financial Report|YourFuneralGuy

Service Corporation International Logo

Service Corporation International(NYSE:SCI) the World’s Largest Funeral Corporation showed an increase in revenue. But there is a serious problem, By the company’s own admission the report does not include unrealized preneed losses. So in effect the financial report is apparently not honest, truthful and the usual deception. 43.8 Million Dollars of unrealized losses are not included in this report.

This corporation continually makes things appear better than what they are-

As of March 31, 2010, we have cumulative net unrealized losses of $26.5 million in our preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise and service trusts, and cumulative net unrealized losses of $17.3 million in our cemetery perpetual care trusts, as discussed in Notes 4, 5, and 6 , Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. At March 31, 2010, these net unrealized losses represented 1.7% of our original cost basis of $2.6 billion. As explained in “Critical Accounting Policies, Fair Value Measurements”, changes in unrealized gains and/or losses related to these securities are reflected in Other comprehensive income (loss) and offset by the Deferred preneed funeral and cemetery receipts held in trust and Care trusts’ corpus interest in those unrealized gains and/or losses. Therefore, the majority of these net unrealized losses are not reflected in our consolidated statement of operations for the quarter ended March 31, 2010. We do, however, rely on our trust investments to provide funding for the various contractual obligations that arise upon maturity of the underlying preneed contracts. Because of the long-term relationship between the establishment of trust investments and the required performance of the underlying contractual obligations, the impact of current market conditions that may exist at any given time is not necessarily indicative of our ability to generate profit on our future

via www.gurufocus.com

One little paragraph explains away millions in unreported losses.

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

SCI Logo From FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremybrooks/

Funeral Director Leaves Body in Basement, 12 years-YourFuneralGuy

Corpse was left in a casket in the basement of Indiana Funeral Home for 12 years istockphoto rf license

A Funeral Director has left a corpse in the basement of a Funeral home for 12 years.  This is flat out disrespect for the dead and humanity. The reason is the funeral director gave for doing the  heinous deed is that he did not get paid.

The life of a human being  dead or alive is more important than money. The highest cost at a funeral is the death of the person involved. There is no excuse for treating a body in this manner. The deceased was left in a casket.

This all went down in Indiana.  Check out the Snippet and click on for more information.

From: news-tribune.net

“On Sept. 2, 1997, 96-year-old Irene Jackson died in Indianapolis, according to coroner records. The woman had family in Southern Indiana, so she was taken to Baity’s Funeral Home at 911 State St. in New Albany. However, her body was not buried until last week.“

Funeral Industry| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Over 100 Funeral Directors meet in Illinois Funeral Mess-YourFuneralGuy

Jeff Dames one of the six funeral directors in a lawsuit against the IFDA has taken some leadership in opposing the The STATE OF ILLINOIS $18 mil SETTLEMENT WITH MERRILL LYNCH in IFDA Funeral Director Mess.

Over 100 Funeral Directors have met in opposition to  a State  Settlement  in the Illinois Funeral Directors Pre need Scandal Mess. It all involves a State Settlement With Merrill Lynch  for $18 million. Funeral Directors say that 18 Million is not enough to cover their losses.

It was not revealed if this meeting was a precursor to a new funeral association in the State of Illinois. The six funeral directors suing the IFDA have a website with what appears to be a logo.

“Their Organization is called THE IFSA

I have it on authority that these folks are E-mailing IFDA members around the State. I received an E- Mail from the Six Funeral directors above.”-Quote from previous post on this blog.

Whether the IFSA is an organization reffering to the six Funeral Directors themselves is not clear. As suggested here in a post, IFSA may be the Start of  a new IFDA.  “Six Suing ILLINOIS Funeral Directors Start Own Trade Association?” (this post has been updated.)

What is clear is that the six mentioned funeral directors  got over 1oo Funeral Directors and their Lawyers to meet at the Crown Plaza Hotel on Wednesday, June, 4th.2009.

Springfield, IL where Illinois Funeral Scandal began and continues.

According to the State Journal Register in Springfield Illinois in a June 5th 2009 inprint article:

“More than 100 funeral directors gathered Thursday in Springfield to challenge an $18 million settlement reached between the Illinois Division of Insurance and Merrill Lynch.

The amount is a fraction of what undertakers say they’ve lost due to poor investments made with money paid into a pre-need funeral trust fund that has tanked……

Afterward, funeral directors met at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and vowed to fight the provision that requires them to release Merrill Lynch from liability in order to collect their shares of the settlement – the largest settlement of an insurance case in Illinois history.

“Do you stand on your principles or do you take the money?” asked Jeff Dames, whose family owns funeral homes in Joliet and Morris. “We’re going to hold their feet to the fire, and we’re gong to make them accountable.”

According to the State Journal Register Jeff Dames and Fred C. Dames Funeral Homes have taken leadership in

Funeral Directors are very angry with the Regulators in the State of Illinois aboutt an $18 Mil Settlement with Merrill Lynch

opposition to the $18 Mil. Agreement  between State Regulators and Merrill Lynch.

“Dames and other funeral directors blame state regulators as much as Merrill Lynch for the financial mess, which festered for years before the state took action.

“The laws that are in place should have protected us,” Dames said”

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by YourFuneralGuy

THIS POST IS RELEVANT TO THE ILLINOIS FUNERAL CONSUMER BECAUSE FUNERAL DIRECTORS IN THIS STATE LOST NEAR 100 Million in this Preneed Scandal.

IN MOST CASES FUNERAL DIRECTORS MAKE UP LOSSES BY RAISING PRICES.

Can Funeral Directors pay off the 10 million IL Fine?-yourfuneralguy

Will the IFDA be able to pay off the 10 million Dollar Comptroller claim? Will these Funeral guys fail ?

The Illinois Funeral Directors Association probably will not be able the meet  1o million(9.7 million)Comptroller claim, or fine.This could mean that the Comptroller in the State of Illinois may be forced into managing lot of little trusts. The IFDA may fail.

Merrill Lynch 18 Million Fine will not be available to the IFDA.

It was made very clear on Wednesday May 2oth 2009 in a press release that the IFDA would not have access to the Merrill Lynch 18 million dollar fee obtained  by regulators.-Here is the Link to the Illinois Deparment of Financial Regulation- Division of Insurance- Stipulation and Consent Order

Key Man insurance will not take the IFDA to 10 Million.

Although there are these key man insurance policies that have quite a high value accessing the full amount of these policies  will be a problem. According to deathcarelaw.com

Snippet:

“the key man insurance held by the trust poses a thorny problem. The insurance policies have a mortality charge that must be satisfied from a reserve that is probably invested in a volatile mix of fixed income and equity assets.

Surrendering the policies requires the trust to address certain tax penalties and policy fees, unless of course, the policies are rescinded or fail to constitute insurance.

“Where does this leave the IFDA and the Comptroller’s $9.7 million claim?

Unless the IFDA has assets (including its museum of funeral customs) sufficient to pay the claim, it will have to earn its way out of this hole. As with most state associations, the master trust represents its main source of revenue.”

The master trust in the current economic enviroment will not bring the IFDA to 10 million fast enough. If the Illinois Funeral Directors Association Fails the Comptroller in Illinois may find himself managing many little trusts. Funeral Directors overall are not pleased with the Comptroller in Illinois.

All this does not bode well for funeral consumers or directors  in Illinois.

Funeral Industry|Funeral blog

Source deathcarelaw.com

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
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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.

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

Governor Quinn ask Ex IFDA Pres.Charles Childs to Resign-yourfuneralguy

The State of Illinois has had an historic Funeral Director Scandal. Charles Childs Jr, of AA Raynor&Sons has played an imporant role in the Scandal. He also regulates funeral director licences in Illinois. He should not be doing that. Folks are calling on him to resign.

For the  integrity of the Funeral Industry in the State of Illinois please ask Charles S. Childs to resign. Childs should resign because of his inept management of the IFDA Preneed Trust. He should not be regulating funeral director licenses in the State of Illinois. This has been a conflict of interest for a long time.

Childs IFDA President was involved in the transfer of 2 million in management fees from the IFDA Preneed Trust in 2007.

“According to an IFDA-commissioned audit, the foundation that ran the museum received at least $250,000 annually in 2006 and 2007 from the association, which got more than $2 million each of those years from management fees generated by the trust fund.” Charles Childs, Jr.  resign because he was the Ifda president in 2007 and a good part ofthe scandalhappened on his watch.

WHAT HAPPENED TO TWO MILLION DOLLARS WHEN HE WAS IFDA PRESIDENT????

Child’s  a state official he is under investigation for preneed fraud in the IFDA Preneed Trust Ponzi Scam.  He is named in three lawsuits against the IFDA,(The Class Action Complaint, The Six Funeral Directors lawsuit against the IFDA, here, and the IFDA insurers lawsuit

State of Illinois Governor Quinn, Comptroller Hynes, Michael T. McRaith , Acting Secretary of IDFPR, I am sure you will ask Charles S. Childs Jr to resign.

Just read marsellusm710′s comments from my last blog post.

“I sure wish the IL Dept of Finance and Professional Regulation had the testicular fortitude to start asking questions of the defendants named in this Lawsuit. (Ethics and such) Oh, wait a minute…I don’t think that will begin to happen just yet…I think that there is a POSSIBLE CONFLICT that a Mr. Charles Childs, Jr. who sits on and IS (YES!, I have confirmed via IDFPR website), THEE Chairman of the Funeral Directors and Embalmers Licensing and Disciplinary Board through the IDFPR.

Here is another resignation that should be asked for!!! Illinois folks call your State Representatives and Senators.  Don’t think for one minute that the potential “Race Card” couldn’t be played here.  Mr. Childs is of African American decent, and well connected in “The community”, in Chicago both politically and socially. Appointment to the IDFPR FD/EMB Disciplinary Bd. is by political appointment usually by the Governor. (Blago???)

Many say this is the attitude the Illinois Funeral Directors Association took towards the Funeral funds of the folks in Illinois.

Trust me, there are A.A. firms injured by the Trust.”

Charles Childs Jr. IFDA Pres.2006-2007 Charles S Childs, display more integrity than Senator Burris and Resign.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Costs Blog by Your Funeral Guy.

photos from istock photo

Check out my previous article on this subject here.

Charles S Childs Jr is a public figure because he was mentioned in the press in the original SJR article in February 2008, named in three IFDA lawsuits, an exIFDA president, and a regulator for the State of Illinois.

If someone needs to verify Mr.Childs position as a regulator during the height of the ifda ponzi scheme through today, check this out.

2009http://www.idfpr.com/Forms/Memo/FDEMtgNotice02242009.pdf

2008http://www.idfpr.com/Forms/Memo/02262008FunDirEmbalmersAgenda.pdf

2007http://www.idfpr.com/Forms/Memo/082107FunDirOpenMinutes.pdf

2006http://www.idfpr.com/Forms/Memo/110106Agenda111406.pdf

Preneed a USA Problem-Now Mississippi-Your Funeral Guy

Preneed or Prepaid Funerals Have Become A Problem in the USA

Prepaying a funeral seems to be a problem for the consumers everywhere in the United States. Senator Roland Burris and the NFDA executive secretary “Randall L Earl”have brought  the prepayed preneed problem into the national spotlight. Both have strong  ties to the Illinois Funeral Directors Association Preneed Ponzi Scheme.

Last year the National Prearranged Services (NPS)scandal amounted to losses over 1 billion dollars in 19 states. State legislators and regulatory agencies have seemed to be at a loss in how to deal with this for a long time.

The problem seems to be quite a problem in the State of Mississippi as well- according to the  Mississippi Secretary of State’s website news articles are listed explaining the problem.

$150K missing in Sunset Gardens fund – Laurel Ledger

$500k in Burial Funds Missing�The Clarion Ledger

Funeral Home Accused of Grave Robbing�Natchez Democrat

Green Acres Customers Fret Over Future�The Vicksburg Post

Green Acres owner making no promises, Hosemann says – Vicksburg Post

Pre-need funeral providers accused of misapplying funds�WLBT

State Agencies to Alter Pre-Need Funeral Accounts�The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

A temporary restraining order has been issued in Mississipi against Green Acres of Vicksburg ,Mississippi on preneed sales. View it here

Some friends have requested that I change my current position ” Consumer Do Not Involve Yourself with preneed.” It is because of the instances mentioned here that I will not change my view.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Costs blog by Your Funeral Guy

“Newspaper reveals More Details on NFDA Secretary ‘Earl’-yourfuneralguy

A Springfield, IL newspaper revealed some detais on the Funeral Ponzi scheme in Illinois this week. The IFDA scandal connects back to the National Funeral Directors Association.

A Springfield  Newspaper this week revealed more specific connections for NFDA Executive Board  an member, Randall L. Earl  to a funeral ponzi scheme in Illinois.

This is why he should resign:The Illinois Funeral Director’s Association lost 59 Million in an alleged Ponzi Scheme Earl has a strong connection to the Scandal.  Randall L Earl is on the board of the NFDA. The NFDA is the place of  integrity for the word Funeral. If  Earl does not resign or be asked to step down, the funeral profession will end up in a deeper hole.

Specifically Earl was President of the IFDA in 2001 when the IFDA had a 10.6 million dollar deficit. He needs to answer some questions on that, how did it happen and why? Why were payouts made out on trust policies when there  was such a deficit in the trust fund?

According to the statement  below from the Springfield Newspaper the State Journal Register, Earl as leader of the IFDA was suppose to inform consumers that the Trust was funded by Insurance under Illinois law.  There is no record that Earl did this.

“While the trust fund generated millions of dollars in commissions and management fees for the IFDA, consumers who bought funeral contracts got none of the earnings and had nothing to gain from investing money in high-risk/high-reward instruments, the state says. Under state law, consumers must be told if money from pre-need contracts is invested in life insurance, but neither Schainker nor the IFDA made required notifications, according to the state.”

There is no record of Randall L Earl  Executive Secretary of the NFDA  complying with the law. He needs to resign. If he does not the CEO of the National Funeral Directors Association needs to ask him to step down. This should happen even if there is no criminality.

Funeral  Industry| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
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