Six Defendants Sentenced in National Prearranged Services Case

St. Louis, MO – In a major crackdown on corporate fraud, six defendants have been sentenced to a total of 36 years and one month in prison for their roles in one of the largest frauds ever prosecuted in the Eastern District of Missouri.

The defendants were sentenced on more than 40 counts of fraud, money laundering and related crimes. At sentencing, Judge Jean C. Hamilton recognized that these defendants, acting through National Prearranged Services, Inc. and Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company, had defrauded more than 97,000 customers in over 16 states, hundreds of funeral homes, and multiple financial institutions, causing over $450 million in losses.

Five of the defendants previously pled guilty to various counts of fraud in June and July of this year. Each of those defendants was sentenced to the terms of imprisonment consistent with their respective plea agreements. The sentences are as follows:

• James Douglas Cassity, former CEO of Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company, received a sentence of 115 months imprisonment (9.58 years) after admitting to organizing and leading the fraudulent enterprise.

• Randall K. Sutton, former CEO of Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company, received a sentence of 84 months imprisonment (7 years) for his role in the fraud.

• Brent Douglas Cassity, a one-time officer of National Prearranged Services, received a sentence of 60 months imprisonment (5 years) for his involvement in the scheme.

• Howard A. Wittner, an attorney for the companies, received a sentence of 36 months imprisonment (3 years) for his role in the fraud.

• Sharon Nekil Province, former President of National Prearranged Services, received a sentence of 18 months imprisonment (1.5 years) for her involvement in the scheme.

• David Wulf, the statutorily appointed independent investment advisor entrusted to oversee the prearranged funeral trusts established in Missouri, faced trial in August and was convicted by a jury on 18 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud and wire fraud affecting a financial institution. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The investigation and prosecution of this case involved a multi-year effort by three federal law enforcement agencies, numerous state regulatory agencies, and the government to unravel a complex and immense fraud that spanned over 15 years.

The scheme, which began as early as 1992 and continued until 2008, involved the sale of prearranged funeral contracts in several states, including Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio. The defendants misrepresented to customers, funeral homes, and state regulators that funds paid by customers under the prearranged funeral contracts would be kept in a secure trust or insurance policy as required under state law.

Court documents disclose that the defendants made use of funds paid by customers in ways that were inconsistent with their prior and continuing representations and with the applicable state laws and regulations. The scheme operated as a fraudulent Ponzi-like scheme, where customer funds were used to pay for earlier investors’ funeral services and merchandise.

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