Former Wichita funeral home owner to pay $53,000 in restitution, fines, DA says
The owner of a now-closed west Wichita funeral home has entered a consent judgment after an investigation by the Sedgwick County district attorney that will result in the owner paying restitution and fines totaling up to $53,000.
Robert Bethea Jr., who operated Bethea Funerals and Cremations until it closed in 2021, was accused of violating consumer protection laws after a customer prepaid for services and never received them, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.
Bethea denied violating consumer protection laws, but accepted a consent judgment. The agreement calls for Bethea to “pay over $28,000 in restitution, $25,000 in civil penalties and additional investigative expenses, and courts cases,” the release said.
District attorney Marc Bennett and his consumer protection office launched the investigation after they received a complaint from the customer. The Kansas State Board of Mortuary Arts assisted in the year-long investigation.
DA spokesperson Dan Dillon said in an email that the consumer contracted with Bethea to buy an irrevocable insurance policy, but Bethea failed to send the funds to the insurance company.
In 2018, the state board entered a consent agreement to revoke Bethea’s funeral director license. As part of the agreement, Bethea deposited $31,000 into a trust account. The money from the account would be used “reimburse impacted consumers not already made whole,” the release said.