Five years after Florence Muto prepaid for a funeral in 2004, the 92-year-old from Westland is out the $6,000 she paid for the plan.
Muto was part of a group of 60 families authorities say were scammed by the owners of the now-closed Ziomek Funeral Home in Livonia between 1998 and 2007.
Problems with prepaid funerals affect consumers around the state. The Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth, which oversees the regulation of prepaid funeral services, said that in the last fiscal year — Oct. 1, 2008, to Sept. 30 — it received 53 complaints and took disciplinary action against 10 providers.
Experts said that there are protections in place, and consumer awareness of what Michigan laws require of funeral homes will go a long way toward preventing a repeat of this situation.
Phil Douma, executive director of the Michigan Funeral Directors Association, said the Michigan law covering prepaid funerals enacted in 1986 requires providers of such plans to register with the state and put the money that people pay for their plans into escrow so it is there when needed.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, Nancy and Christopher Ziomek, the couple who operated the funeral home accused in the scam, had not had a valid registration to offer prepaid funeral services since 1999, and they never placed funds in escrow.
Christopher Ziomek’s attorney noted that his client has not admitted wrongdoing. Nancy Ziomek’s attorney declined to comment. The Ziomeks are to be arraigned today in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Local families can’t believe couple would betray trust
Hilda Laichalk didn’t believe at first when she learned this summer that the couple who had sold her a prepaid funeral plan in 2004 weren’t legally allowed to do so.
After all, Nancy and Christopher Ziomek handled her husband’s funeral in 2001, as well as the funerals of other relatives. Laichalk felt like she was dealing with friends — and didn’t know to ask lots of questions.
“The hardest part for me is they were so darned nice. I guess that’s what sucks you in,” said Laichalk, 79, who gave the Ziomek Funeral Home in Livonia $4,109 for a prepaid funeral.
Source: Freep.com
BY ERIC D. LAWRENCE
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
