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Columbus Dispatch Circleville, Ohio Bertha Sullivan is in the market for a new funeral home. And a new funeral, for that matter. Sullivan is a former client of Mader-Peters Funeral Home, whose funeral director, Brent Peters, filed a false death certificate in her name, according to state documents. Now the 71-year-old Stoutsville woman still needs to plan for the real thing and doesn’t know whether the money she has prepaid for a funeral contract will cover it. "As things stand right now, I’ll have to postpone dying," she said. Meanwhile, investigations continue. Peters is accused of stealing $700,000 from clients’ prepaid funeral contracts, filing false death certificates and collecting money for funerals that never took place. The state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors suspended his funeral and insurance licenses last week and says that at least 128 people have been affected over more than 10 years. The Pickaway County prosecutor’s office also is investigating, as well as the state departments of Insurance and Health. While state officials are calling for more oversight into prepaid funeral arrangements, other Circleville funeral homes have been bombarded with calls from people wondering whether they can transfer their funeral plans. "Their first concern is if there’s any money there," said Craig Wellman, funeral director for Wellman Funeral Home. Right now, "We want them to feel comfortable," he said. "It’s more than just, ‘Is our money there?’ It’s ‘Do I even exist?’ " Wellman said he’s not sure what he can do for the callers. It’s up to the insurance companies and how they handle their individual policies and deal with fraud, he said. "We just tell the people that we have to get information about their case and get back to them," he said. State law requires that funeral accounts be transferable. Although a normal transfer takes days, defrauded clients might have to wait weeks or even months, said Tom Theller, funeral director for Defenbaugh Wise Schoedinger Funeral Home in Circleville. His funeral home intends to offer substantial discounts to people who discover they are fraud victims, he said. "We’re just trying the best we can to get through these transfers in a timely fashion," Theller said. A former employee tipped off the state board to Peters’ activities.
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