FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Florida federal court slapped a $275,000 penalty on two companies and an executive as part of a settlement after they were accused of engaging in “deceptive” marketing for funeral goods and services.
According to a U.S. Department of Justice news release, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered an order requiring Legacy Cremation Services, LLC, Funeral & Cremation Group of North America, LLC and Anthony Joseph Damiano to pay the civil penalty, plus ordered them to “comply with the FTC Act and the FTC’s Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Funeral Industry Practice.”
Recommended Videos
The funeral regulation specifically “prohibits providing consumers with inaccurate price information and requires certain disclosures to consumers regarding pricing for funeral-related goods,” officials said.
According to the DOJ, the order came in response to a federal complaint filed in Fort Lauderdale against the companies, which served as brokers between consumers and third-party funeral service providers.
The companies “misled consumers about the locations where funeral services will be provided, as well as the ultimate costs of such services,” the news release states, and “when consumers objected to these pricing practices, (the companies) refused to provide consumers with the remains of their loved ones until they paid.”
Under the settlement, the companies and Damiano agreed to cease such practices, officials said.
“They also specifically agreed to clearly and conspicuously include on their websites the actual physical locations of the service providers and a link to their general price lists,” the news release states. “Before accepting payment from any consumer, (the) defendants agreed to provide an itemized, written statement of all prices and the total cost of services.”
According to the FTC complaint, Damiano, who used a number of aliases, including “AJ Damiano,” “AJ Styles” and “AJ Mahoney,” operated both companies named in the litigation.