Two Ohio Cemeteries Accused of Ripping Off Customers

COLUMBUS, OH - Two Ohio cemeteries are being sued by Attorney General Mike DeWine for failing to deliver headstones, vaults and other memorial items to customers.

Fairview Memorial Park in Delaware County and Grandview Memorial Park in Portage County are named in the suit, which accuses the cemeteries and owners Theodore L. Martin Jr. and Arminda Martin of violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act.

Fairview Memorial Park is located at 5035 Columbus Pike in Lewis Center, and Grandview Memorial Park is located at 5400 Lakewood Road in Ravenna.

According to the Attorney General’s lawsuit, the cemeteries accepted money or credit card payments from consumers for headstones, vaults, and other memorial items they failed to deliver. Estimated consumer losses currently total about $36,000 based on 26 unresolved complaints.

The Martins were also accused of tax evasion in a Pennsylvania court earlier this year, reports the Morning Journal. According to the York (Pa.) Daily Record newspaper, the Martins allegedly filed a false joint individual tax return in 2011, stating their joint taxable income was $39,489 and that they owed $11,453.

However, the couple allegedly knew their taxable income was really $369,731, and that they owed $132,315 in federal taxes, the newspaper reported.

“When people are grieving the loss of a family member, they shouldn’t have to deal with problems like this,” Attorney General DeWine said. “Our goal is to help consumers who have been harmed and to enforce the state’s consumer protection laws.”

The Facebook Page for Grandview Memorial Park also paints a grim picture, with several users complaining that they either haven't been paid for their work on headstones or that they're being told their parents' gravestones require an additional payment.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit, filed in the Portage County Common Pleas Court, seeks restitution for consumers, an end to any violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act, and civil penalties.

Theodore L. Martin Jr. and Arminda Martin also have been charged criminally in Portage County in separate cases involving related activity.

Image from Facebook, Photo of Fairview Memorial Park from Google Earth