A heartless funeral-home director allegedly bilked prospects out of greater than $650,000 in pet-cremation companies — giving them the ashes of random, unknown animals as a substitute of their beloved critters’ stays.
Prosecutors mentioned Monday that Jacob Vereb, 70, of Vereb Funeral Dwelling and Eternity Pet Memorial in Pittsburgh has been charged with improperly disposing of “thousands of dogs and cats,” for which their house owners had entrusted him to supply cremations and the return of their ashes.
“Vereb took money in exchange for private cremation services, then disposed of many of the pets at a landfill and provided customers with ashes of other, unknown animals,” officers mentioned, in response to ABC Information.
Pennsylvania Legal professional Normal Dave Sunday mentioned Vereb pocketed greater than $650,000 between 2021 and 2024 within the twisted scheme operated out of his funeral residence, which additionally offers companies for human our bodies.
An investigation into the enterprise discovered there had been than 6,500 pet-owning victims throughout Pennsylvania, from Allegheny, Armstrong, Washington and Westmoreland counties, the outlet mentioned.
”This case is disturbing and can trigger devastation and heartache for a lot of Pennsylvanians,” the AG mentioned.
“Our pets are members of our families, and this defendant betrayed and agonized pet owners who entrusted him to provide dignified services for their beloved cats and dogs. I commend our investigative team for a comprehensive review of voluminous records which uncovered this long-running pattern of theft and deception.”
The lawyer normal’s workplace has launched a web site for victims the place they will enter their contact data to obtain updates on the case, in addition to share affect statements.
“Nearly a dozen veterinary practices and businesses worked with the Office of Attorney General to confirm that Vereb collected at least $657,517 in fees from pet owners who were promised a private cremation for their pet, but did not receive the actual ashes of their pet,” the AG’s 0ffice mentioned.
“Eternity Pet Memorial received the pets directly from consumers or through area veterinarians.”
Veleb surrendered Monday and was slapped with felony counts of receiving stolen property, theft by deception and misleading enterprise practices. He was arraigned and launched on his personal recognizance, the outlet reported.
