Attorney General's News Release

August 29, 2006

Monument company will pay $28,803 in restitution and penalties, finish contract work in agreement with Nixon

St. Charles, Mo. — A Manchester cemetery headstone company that received prepayment for monuments it allegedly failed to deliver will pay more than $28,000 in restitution and penalties, and complete all outstanding contracted work for 43 consumers, under an agreement with Attorney General Jay Nixon. Nixon filed a civil lawsuit against Jeffrey Thomure, the operator of Standard Monument Company, in August 2005 as part of “Operation Grave Concerns,” a crackdown on consumer fraud in the bereavement industry.

“Our settlement will ensure that those consumers who paid for headstones but didn't receive them will either receive restitution money due them, or will have the work they have already paid for completed by the defendant,” Nixon said.

Under the consent judgment and permanent injunction filed in St. Louis County Circuit Court, Thomure will:

• Pay $13,803 to the Attorney General's Office in consumer restitution payments;
• Pay a civil penalty of $50,000 to the state, with $10,000 due immediately and $40,000 suspended if the defendant complies with the terms of the agreement;
• Pay $5,000 to the state to cover the costs associated with the investigation and prosecution of the case; and
• Complete all outstanding contracted work for 43 consumers by Oct. 1, 2006. If he fails to do the work, Thomure must immediately pay the $40,000 suspended penalty, and provide refunds to those consumers for work not completed.

Thomure also must respond to consumers' inquiries into the status of orders they have placed and is prohibited from violating Missouri's consumer protection statutes in the future.

Earlier this year, Nixon obtained criminal convictions against funeral home operators in Audrain and Dent counties as part of “Operation Grave Concerns.”

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818