Legacy Cremation Services LLC

Fort Lauderdale, FL 2019--2022 Cemetery Districts

FTC DOJ Ftc Funeral Rule Deceptive Marketing Consumer Fraud Withholding Remains

Penalty

$275,000

Outcome

The DOJ and FTC obtained a court order requiring Legacy Cremation Services, Funeral & Cremation Group of North America, and owner Anthony Joseph Damiano to pay $275,000 in civil penalties for deceptive marketing, withholding cremated remains to extract payment, and violating the FTC Funeral Rule.

Details

Legacy Cremation Services — FTC Funeral Rule Violations (2019–2022)

Outcome: The DOJ and FTC obtained a court order requiring Legacy Cremation Services, Funeral & Cremation Group of North America, and owner Anthony Joseph Damiano to pay $275,000 in civil penalties for deceptive marketing, withholding cremated remains to extract payment, and violating the FTC Funeral Rule.

In April 2022, the DOJ and FTC filed a complaint in the Southern District of Florida against Anthony Joseph Damiano and his companies, Legacy Cremation Services, LLC, and Funeral & Cremation Group of North America, LLC. The complaint alleged that the defendants misrepresented their locations to consumers, making them believe they were dealing with a local provider; advertised deceptively low prices; illegally threatened to withhold and failed to return cremated remains to bereaved consumers unless they paid inflated prices; and failed to provide mandatory disclosures required by the FTC Funeral Rule.

In April 2023, the court entered an order requiring the defendants to pay $275,000 in civil penalties. The settlement also required the defendants to clearly disclose their actual physical location on websites, post key price information online, and disclose the name, address, and contact information of any third-party provider immediately upon selection.

Primary Source: FTC: Action Leads to Civil Penalties, Strict Requirements for Funeral and Cremation Provider That Withheld Remains from Loved Ones to Extract Payment

How Crucible Prevents This

The company misrepresented its location as local, advertised deceptively low prices, and withheld cremated remains from families until they paid inflated charges. Crucible's customer-facing disclosure compliance hooks would verify that all required FTC Funeral Rule price lists are provided before any transaction, and the pattern of consumer complaints about withheld remains would trigger automated regulatory reporting.

Source: FTC: Action Leads to Civil Penalties, Strict Requirements for Funeral and Cremation Provider That Withheld Remains from Loved Ones to Extract Payment

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