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FORMER BRAXTON FUNERAL HOME OWNER CHARGED - Violating Funeral Pre-Need Laws |
| (12/26/2014) |
| Complaint alleges Stockert-Sizemore Funeral Home violated
the West Virginia Preneed Act and state Consumer Credit and Protection Act. WV Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced his has filed a complaint against a now-closed Braxton County funeral home and its owner alleging that they violated the state's Consumer Credit and Protection Act and the West Virginia Preneed Act. The complaint says the former Stockert-Sizemore Funeral Home Inc. and its previous owner, Timothy Sizemore, of Nitro, misappropriated money from consumers who were trying to prepay their funeral costs. It says Sizemore did not register some preneed funeral contracts with the State, and used unfair and deceptive practices when selling preneed contracts to consumers. The complaint alleges the defendants engaged in continuous violations of the Preneed Act and Consumer Act from at least 2008 until April 2013. The funeral home went through foreclosure in November 2013 and was sold at auction. The funeral home now goes by a different name and has new owners. "This complaint seeks to protect senior citizens and others who in good faith tried to prepay for their funerals so as not to burden their loved ones with additional expenses at what may already be a sad and stressful time," Attorney General Morrisey said. "These contracts were entered into in good faith, and people must be confident that when they enter into a contract with a business the business will uphold its end of the deal." The complaint alleges the funeral home accepted a total of $30,593.08 from at least seven individuals as advance payment for funeral services but then failed to deposit that money into a trust account or insurance policy under the individual's name. The complaint also alleges Sizemore failed to keep accurate accounts, books and/or records of all of their transactions. As a result, the true location of consumers' advance payments could not be readily determined. "Our Office identified multiple areas of violation and at least 12 West Virginia consumers who were affected by the defendants' conduct," Morrisey said.
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