The Federal Trade Commission has ordered Anthony Joseph Damiano and his funeral service companies — Funeral & Cremation Group of North America and Legacy Cremation Services (doing business as Heritage Cremation Provider, Evergreen Funeral Home and Crematory, and Carolina Central Crematory) — to pay civil penalties and abide by strict requirements on how they communicate with customers to resolve a lawsuit filed on behalf of the FTC by the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ and FTC filed their complaint against Damiano and his companies in April 2022, alleging that they misrepresented their location, leading consumers to believe they were a local provider, advertised deceptively low prices, illegally threatened and failed to return cremated remains to bereaved consumers, and failed to provide disclosures required by the Funeral Rule. “Lying to consumers about critical information, including price and location of services when they are dealing with the loss of a loved one, is outrageous and illegal,” said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Our actions in this case show the FTC’s commitment to enforcing the Funeral Rule to protect consumers and honest funeral homes.” The complaint alleged that the defendants claimed to be local funeral or cremation providers when speaking with customers, failing to disclose that the services would be contracted to a third party, sometimes hours away from loved ones. The complaint also alleged that, when consumers were presented with undisclosed fees and higher prices, the defendants, in some cases, withheld the remains of their loved ones to extract payment. The proposed court order, which was agreed to by the defendants in the case, would require the defendants to: • Share important info on their website: The order requires the defendants to disclose key Special NFDA Bulletin: FTC ACTION LEADS TO CIVIL PENALTIES, STRICT REQUIREMENTS FOR FUNERAL AND CREMATION PROVIDER THAT WITHHELD REMAINS FROM LOVED ONES TO EXTRACT PAYMENT 12 | Montana Funeral Directors Association
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