An ongoing investigation into alleged financial crimes at a Terre Haute, Indiana funeral home is causing confusion in the community and sending attorneys, the funeral board, and deathcare professionals who are assisting affected families to scramble for answers to unprecedented questions.
The early warning signs
The public’s first inkling of potential issues at Greiner Funeral Home & Cremation Service in Terre Haute, Indiana appeared in late January 2026, when local news outlet WTHI-TV announced that the Vigo County Coroner’s Office had “taken possession of four bodies” from the facility and that the funeral “volunteered to temporarily close.” The report shared that these actions were taken after an unexpected medical condition suffered by owner Gary Greiner “came to light” on January 24.
WTHI-TV’s announcement of the closure and Greiner’s illness garnered more than 200 comments on the station’s Facebook page. The majority of commenters expressed support for Greiner and complimented the funeral home’s handling of their loved ones’ services.
“I dealt with Greiner for each of my parents’ passing and they were the only positive thing out of that situation for me,” said one individual. “Gary is a great guy and I hope he will recover quickly from whatever ailment he is dealing with.”
However, some commenters questioned the full closure of the business, with a few mentioning a potential “sheriff’s sale” due to “tax evasion and not providing service after payment.”
A plethora of problems
Some of those suspicions were confirmed on April 2 when the Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board suspended the licenses of both Gary Greiner and Greiner Funeral Home, “demanded possession” of the firm’s preneed files, and announced an investigation of a second employee. Additionally, WTHI-TV confirmed that foreclosure procedures had been initiated against the funeral home.
Technically, Gary Greiner’s funeral director license had expired on December 31, 2024. The Indiana Department of Revenue had also placed a hold on Greiner’s license, perhaps in relation to the Attorney General’s Office’s investigation, which found that 142 of Greiner Funeral Home’s preneed contracts were “never deposited into any trust or insurance company.” Unfunded contracts dated back to 2009 and totaled more than $552,000.
“Playing this by ear”
Unfortunately, preneed fraud isn’t completely uncommon in deathcare, but in this particular case, there’s no clear roadmap for those involved in the aftermath to follow.
“In my nearly 40 years in the funeral business, this is uncharted territory,” Jeff Edmondson, owner of Fitzpatrick Funeral Home in Terre Haute, told WTWO News on April 14. “We’re all kind of playing this by ear and kind of feeling our way through this.”
Edmondson’s involvement comes after Greiner’s attorney Mike Ellis sent a letter to all of Greiner’s 2200 funded preneed customers stating that their files would be transferred to Fitzpatrick Funeral Home. But after Edmondson asked the funeral board for clarification, the board “advised Edmondson that he cannot take the files due to Greiner no longer having his funeral director’s license.”
Edmondson explained that because Greiner Funeral Home was no longer an active funeral home, neither Greiner, nor Ellis, acting on their behalf, had the “right or ability to dictate where those files went since they were no longer in an active funeral home.”
Still more to the story
Ellis stated that he directed Greiner’s customers to Fitzpatrick assuming Fitzpatrick would be the choice of the majority, although he acknowledged that the decision was “ultimately up to the owner of the policy.”
Fitzpatrick Funeral Home seems to be a logical choice for these customers, however, as on April 16, WTWO announced that the sheriff’s sale of the Greiner Funeral Home facility had been canceled by the lienholder. Ellis told the outlet that the cancellation could be due to the new lease that had been signed by “the folks that run Fitzpatrick Funeral Home.” Edmondson added that the lease was not yet official.
In the meantime, the Tribune-Star newspaper reported that seven search warrants were served at multiple locations on April 15, including the Greiner Funeral Home facility and a storage room at a local cemetery. Authorities seized financial records and more than 140 sets of cremated remains, which they are working to return to families.
More details released
The Tribune-Star report shed light on a number of developments in the case and clarified some of the incidents that sparked the investigation — including customer complaints about not receiving cremains.
According to the report, the foreclosure case on the funeral home was filed in November 2024 due to mortgage non-payment; the balance due on April 15 was $560,490. The news of that foreclosure prompted the investigation into Greiner Funeral Home that led to the hold on Greiner’s license. Ellis, Greiner’s attorney, asked if Greiner could voluntarily surrender his license, but the state board refused, calling for criminal prosecution “to the fullest extent of the law criminally.” The board is also investigating a second director at Greiner Funeral Home, who has since resigned.
Sgt. Mark Minnick of the Terre Haute Police Department described the situation as a “unique investigation.”
“We’re asking a lot of questions from state organizations that can help us get some answers,” Minnick added.
