This Week’s Deathcare Docket Is Full of Financial and Felonious Infractions

What in the world has gotten into the water flowing into the break rooms of funeral homes and cemeteries these days? Deathcare is getting way too much press lately — and not the good kind, either. It’s the same old story … A very few bad apples are detracting from the whole bunch of honest and exceptional individuals who exemplify the best qualities of the profession. It also stands to reason that in the criminal justice system, deathcare-based offenses are considered especially heinous. These are a few of the latest stories (DUM DUM):

License revoked in Missouri

Last week, the Missouri State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors revoked the embalmer and funeral director licenses of Andrew Moore, who “provided false statements on a death certificate related to final disposition for one individual and failed to file a death certificate for another individual” thus causing “harm to the family members of the deceased individuals in Butler County.”

Allegations lodged in Alabama

The Alabama Board of Funeral Services has received complaints from families who have been waiting two to five years for headstones to be installed at one Baldwin County cemetery, although the bills were paid in full when the orders were placed. The local sheriff’s office is also investigating “thousands of dollars” that “are allegedly unaccounted” at the cemetery.

Disability fraud in New Jersey

A 57-year-old funeral director has been convicted of wire fraud for collecting $585,000 in Social Security disability benefits over a 15-year period — while at the same time, he continued to carry 160-pound caskets down flights of stairs, climb ladders onto the roof of the funeral home, and and take long flights to go skiing in Italy and Utah. The statements he submitted to the SSA swore that he couldn’t sit for more than 15 minutes comfortably, “struggled to lift a carton of milk, and had been forced to give up skiing.”

Wire fraud in West Virginia

The owner of several cemeteries in West Virginia has pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud related to the misappropriation of funds that he received for grave markers. 

Second suit in Colorado

A second lawsuit has been filed by families who were wronged by Brian and Chris Cotter, former owners of Davis Mortuary in Pueblo, Colorado. The body of the plaintiff’s father was one of 24 that were discovered in various stages of decomposition in a secluded storage area in August 2025. Her suit names the Cotter brothers, Davis Mortuary,  the owners of the building in which Davis Mortuary was housed, and the primary funeral home that was handling her father’s service and had subcontracted Davis for cremation. To date, no criminal charges have been filed against the Cotters.