Greg's Corner

Serial scammer rips off grieving families

By Greg Collier

Over the past couple of years, families who have lost loved ones have had it even worse thanks to scammers. If it’s not the phone calls from fake funeral home employees, it’s scammers selling funeral plots they don’t own, or the family having their home stolen from them. If you thought those could be the only scams perpetrated against grieving families, you’d be mistaken.

A man from Pennsylvania is wanted by the Delaware State Police for allegedly selling gravestones to grieving families and not delivering them. According to the DSP, the man reached out to families who recently lost loved ones and would meet them at the cemetery. There, he would design a gravestone for the deceased and would collect money from the family.

Later, the man would send a letter to the family stating his business went bankrupt and could no longer make the gravestone. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this scammer was caught conning grieving families. He’s forbidden from doing business in Pennsylvania after conducting a similar scam and may have had victims in New Jersey as well.

Again, grief is one of the most difficult emotions to process. What may seem like a kind stranger offering their help could be a scammer in disguise. When choosing any kind of service regarding the loss of a loved one, such as funeral homes etc., research the service first before committing any money. Do a web search on the name of the service with qualifiers such as ‘reviews’ and complaints.

If the process of arranging a funeral and the surrounding responsibilities get to be too much while you’re grieving, don’t be afraid to reach out to a friend or family member for help and support.