West VA Cemetery Owner Steals Dead’s Dollar Bills for Selfish Grave Marker Swindles

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Wheeling, West Virginia – A cemetery owner in North Central West Virginia has been caught with his hand in the till, literally. Jeffrey Phares, 65, of Fayetteville, WV, is now staring down a potential 20-year stretch behind bars for siphoning off more than a quarter million dollars from customers who thought they were paying to mark their loved ones’ resting places. According to U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey, Phares ran four cemeteries: Greenlawn Memorial Park, Elkins Memorial Gardens, Greenlawn Memorial Cemetery, and Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens. The swindler took money for grave markers, then pocketed the dough while promising delivery dates that never materialized. Total losses are pegged at somewhere between $250,000 and $550,000. Phares has agreed to pay up, but it’ll be a cold day in hell before he’s back from the grave with his hands clean. The feds say he’ll fork over restitution to the victims before he gets locked down. Phares faces up to 20 years in the clink when sentenced by a federal judge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas is the one on the prosecution side. The FBI, Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office, and Wetzel County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office are all in on this dirt. Magistrate Judge James P. Mazzone kept the court ship sailing today.

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