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Leonard Scarr, age 55, of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, the former owner of the Scarr Funeral Home in Suffern, was sentenced on Wednesday, March 2, said Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh.
Scarr pleaded guilty last year to two counts of grand larceny and other crimes in connection with the theft of more than $531,000 from some 90 clients who provided him with down payments for funerals and burials for themselves or loved ones.
The son of a former Suffern mayor Leonard A. Scarr, and a third-generation funeral home owner, Scarr admitted to defrauding just two of the 90 victims and stealing more than $3,000 under a plea agreement, said the DA's Office.
Scarr stole the funds by depositing the victim’s money into an interest-bearing account which he could only access upon the death of the victim account holder, the DA's Office said.
To obtain the funds, Scarr instead forged a death certificate in the victim’s name, presented the forged death certificate to representatives of the bank where the burial escrow account was held, withdrew the funds from the account, and used them for various personal expenses, the DA's Office said.
Regarding the second victim, Scarr also contracted with her to set up a prepaid burial account, but simply never deposited the victim’s money into a mandated interest-bearing account.
Instead, he used the victim’s funds for various personal expenses, they added.
In 2020, to ensure that all the victims will be fully reimbursed, the District Attorney's Office filed a civil action seeking forfeiture from Scarr’s property and proceeds from the sale of the Scarr Funeral Home.
When the sale of the property closed in the summer of 2021, the sum of $540,000 was set aside to pay back the victims of Scarr’s theft.
To date, 15 victims have been refunded $59,582.56 and the nine remaining victims need to be refunded $36,045.62, the DA's Office said.
The remaining 64 victims chose to have the Edwards Funeral Home honor their contact with Scarr Funeral Home under an agreement.
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