Fraud, Ponzi Scheme and Funeral Divas

Funeral Divas founder Muneerah Warner went from being a respected pioneer and innovator to the center focus of a fraud case that put an abrupt end to the Funeral Divas first “Innovation Seminar” in Chicago last week. Many comments and stories have been flying around different social media channels owned by Funeral Divas Inc (all social media channels have now been shutdown) and some have even called the Funeral Divas organization a “ponzi scheme“.

What is Funeral Divas, Inc?

From FuneralDivas.com: Funeral Divas, Inc. is a social and support group for funeral industry women. We have over 800 members located in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, South Africa, England and Bermuda!

What is a “Funeral Diva”?

From FuneralDivas.com: A Funeral Diva is a strong, confident and successful woman who works in the funeral industry. She is not ashamed of her career! She is proud to serve hurting families! She is an Embalmer, Funeral Director or Employee at a funeral home! She is a grief counselor, a casket sales woman or Mortuary Science Student! She is a woman who supports all women in Funeral Service! She simply loves her career!

The Innovation Seminar last week in Chicago was the first big event organized by Funeral Divas Inc and it sure did turn out to be a big event, but not for the reasons originally intended.

Here is how the event was described before hand on the “Diva” website:

The Chicago Innovation Seminar is all about providing innovative ideas through education. We are offering continuing education credits approved for Indiana and Illinois funeral directors. We guarantee that you’ve never been to continuing education seminar like this before. This Seminar and business showcase is open to everyone in the Funeral Industry.

So what exactly happened to turn this event into a fraud laden wreck?

Here are a few screen grabs taken from the Funeral Divas Facebook Page (no longer online) outlining some of the events that unfolded: