Forest Hills’ preneed consumers were hoping for news of retribution, but Clayton Smart’s anticipated plea bargain was put on hold. If news reports are accurate, authorities from Tennessee (and perhaps Michigan and Indiana) have their sites on the individual(s) who facilitated the transactions that eventually left preneed trusts and permanent maintenance trusts depleted.
But, I was going to pay it back..
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Cemeteries
Death care regulators seem to believe that the majority of funeral home and cemetery operators are honest and well intended. But, the regulators must contend with the occasional operator who views trust funds as their own. Before taking offense with the regulator’s skepticism, operators need to reflect on the arrogance of operators such as those reflected in a…
Zero Tolerance: Preneed Fraud and local prosecutors
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in Preneed
Over the past few years, preneed frauds have been measured in terms of hundreds of millions (with the suggestion that the NPS loss will top a billion). And, funeral directors and consumers have been frustrated by the perception that regulators are helpless to stop preneed fraud. Apparently, one local prosecutor from Texas took notice.
When the…
Waiting for the other shoe(s) to drop
By Bill Stalter on
Posted in NPS/Lincoln, Preneed
Funeral directors will attempt to leverage the Funeral Service Insider’s report about the NPS contributions to state politicians, but they should do so with caution.
The story does not paint the entire picture of NPS’ efforts to influence the politics that controlled Missouri’s preneed industry. The amount attributed to the Missouri efforts ($168,000) seems low. Granted it…
Grandview Memorial Gardens: Round up the suspects
By Bill Stalter on
The families of those buried at Grandview Memorial Gardens are angry. First they are advised that the trusts meant to fund future burials and the care for those graves are not properly funded. Next, they learn that some of the cemetery’s gardens have a problem with grave spaces flooding with water. When Indiana regulators and…