Leonard Scarr, a former funeral home owner
in New York, has been accused of stealing close to $500,000 from 88 individuals in his position as the owner.
Scarr, 54, had pleaded guilty, and on Wednesday, he was given two to six years in prison.
In September, Scarr had turned himself in at the Rockland County Jail to begin to serve his time.
Scarr’s Funeral Home was started in 1920 by Leonard Scarr’s father. Scarr later took over the business although he wasn’t a licensed director. Thus, he couldn’t deal directly with the bodies.
In August 2020, one funeral home client made a complaint. That led to the discovery of over 12 victims. Scarr was then charged with over 100 felonies.
In July 2021, he pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny and first-degree scheme to defraud. Scarr confessed to stealing over $3,000 from two different clients who had made pre-paid burial arrangements with him.
In one instance, he forged someone’s name who is still alive. He then took money out of the bank that was there for the burial account escrow. Another time, he never put the money in a required account. He just used it for personal reasons.
After being made to pay restitution, in 2021, the funeral home was sold. $540,000 of the money went to the victims. It was noted that $59,582.56 was paid back and $36,045.62 remains.
The rest of the victims will have the new funeral home handle their contracts to ensure that their relatives have a proper burial.
