Pre-Paid Funeral Scheme Alleged

Thousands of Missouri families who put their money into pre-paid funeral contracts may be in for a shock.

State regulators allege that National Prearranged Services of St. Louis has been running a pyramid scheme that used payments from new customers to pay off existing "pre-need" funeral customers' guaranteed burial plans.

The scam involves at least $104 million worth of Missourians' life insurance policies that backed pre-paid funeral plans.

In April, authorities seized control of the St. Louis firm and halted all new sales while its books could be examined. At least 46,000 Missourians have bought the pre-paid contracts.

Marty Meyers runs a funeral home in Blue Springs. He said that on Thursday he went ahead with services for a family with one of the contracts from National Prearranged Services, even though the funeral home isn't sure if the contract is good anymore.

Meyers said he has honored nearly 12 such contracts since April.

He said he sent a letter to his clients who purchased pre-paid contracts explaining that the money in their trust account was held by National Prearranged Services. The company was supposed to hold 80 percent of the contract amount in trust.

"They were defrauded as a family, and I think there's nothing more appalling than stealing from the elderly," Meyers told KMBC's Maria Antonia.

The Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration has a free hot line at 866-296-8801 to help Missouri consumers who have purchased pre-need contracts from National Prearranged Services.

For more information, go to www.pr.mo.gov/embalmers.asp.

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• KMBC
• St.
• Louis
• prepaid
• funeral
• scheme
• National
• Prearranged
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