MECHANICSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -
Recent charges filed against a former Mechanicsburg funeral director have raised questions about protecting consumers.
Boyd Myers Jr., 51, is accused of taking money from more than a hundred customers who
paid for arrangements in advance while he was director of the former Myers Funeral Home. He was charged Wednesday with 558 criminal charges, including 165 felony counts of
deceptive business practices, theft, and insurance fraud.
Bob Buhrig is funeral director of the Meyers-Buhrig Funeral Home and Crematory, which operates from the same building but has no affiliation with Boyd Myers. He often reaches out the community to answer their questions and spoke to seniors at Messiah Village on Thursday.
Buhrig spoke to seniors about things they should look out for, especially when it comes to pre-need. Buhrig advises people they should never write a check directly to a funeral home or person.
"The check should always be written to the insurance company or the bank deposit where the money is going to be trusted," Buhrig said. "If they ask you to write it to the funeral home that is a red flag, and truthfully, you should get up and walk out."
Customers should also receive confirmation of their payments.
"Within a couple of weeks, either a letter or other written material from the insurance company or the bank indicating that their monies have been received and deposited correctly," Buhrig said.
According to Buhrig, 20 to 30 percent of funerals currently are pre-funded. He says he is hoping for more oversight from the state.
"I would like to see state inspectors inspect pre-needs more thoroughly and to see them done on a more timely basis," Buhrig said. "This builds public trust and the public should trust their funeral directors."
According to the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association, the average funeral cost $15,000.
