West Virginia Funeral Home Sued for Filing False Death Claims to Insurers

The operators of a Putnam County, West Virginia funeral home are being accused of filing false death claims to insurance companies on behalf of pre-need contract customers who were still alive.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a complaint Friday alleging Gatens-Harding Funeral Home of Poca violated state law.

Morrisey says an audit conducted by his office in August determined at least 108 West Virginians were affected.

The complaint filed in Kanawha County Circuit Court seeks refunds of pre-need contract advance payments received by the funeral home for funerals it has not yet performed. It also attempts to have records turned over to the state and ban the funeral home from selling pre-need funerals.

The complaint seeks civil penalties and punitive damages.

A message left with the funeral home by the AP wasn’t immediately returned Saturday.