Suffern Funeral Home Owner Accused Of Stealing From Clients

SUFFERN, NY — The owner of the Scarr Funeral Home faces charges of grand larceny and forgery after an investigation by Ramapo police into funds missing from pre-paid funeral bank accounts.

In March, the Investigations Division began a lengthy probe into an account established to be payable to a local funeral home upon the account holder’s death. Police alleged the account had been fraudulently closed after a forged death certificate had been produced to the bank and a check had been issued to the funeral home in July of 2019. The check was deposited into the funeral home’s bank account, they said.

They said their investigation led to the discovery of two more victims whose “payable upon death” accounts had been closed after forged death certificates had been produced to the bank. Again, checks were issued to the funeral home and then deposited into the funeral home’s bank account, police alleged.

All of the victims are still alive and well at this time, police said.

On Monday, Leonard Scarr was arrested. The 53-year-old Warwick resident faces charges of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (3 counts), Forgery in the Second Degree (3 counts) and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the second degree (3 counts).

He was arraigned in the Town of Ramapo Justice Court and released on his own recognizance with a future appearance date, police said.