Business ProfileforLifeStone by Stefan

The following describes a pending government action that has been formally brought by a government agency but has not yet been resolved. We are providing a summary of the government's allegations, which have not yet been proven.

On August 12, 2021, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) announced the filing of a lawsuit against this firm, its owners, and its operators for allegedly violating the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law. Specifically, the suit alleges these parties failed to provide and deliver goods or services as promised to consumers, denied consumers full refunds when appropriate, and solicited consumers in misleading and dishonest ways by falsely implying to some customers that they were affiliated or associated with the cemetery where the customer's relative was buried. 

The complaint is seeking a permanent injunction against the defendants from continuing to engage in any deceptive or illegal business practices, civil penalties of $1,000 for each violation of the state’s consumer protection law and $3,000 for each violation involving a consumer age 60 or older, as well full restitution and costs of the investigation.

In 2015, the PAG had previously settled a lawsuit against the firm and similarly accused it of failing to deliver contracted services, charging consumers for headstones that were never delivered or were delivered late, provided items of lesser quality than advertised, denied or delayed providing full refunds, and mailed deceptive sales solicitations to people with recently deceased relatives, using obituaries as leads, that some people mistakenly considered to be an invoice or bill.

In January, the Office of Attorney General filed a contempt petition against the firm and its owner and accused them of violating the terms of that agreement. That resulted in a judgment for more than $300,000 in restitution, civil penalties and costs, and an injunction against the owner that barred him from owning, managing, or having any significant involvement in a business that provides or engraves headstones for consumers. 

Between the original complaint being filed and that injunction took place, however, the owner and the firm's operators established a new business under the name 1843, LLC. According to the PAG, the latest complaint claims this new business engaged in similar illegal business practices and the same parties previously involved continue to engage in conduct that violates Pennsylvania's Consumer Protection Law and seeks to bar the company and its operators from selling cemetery markers in Pennsylvania again. 

The PAG advises consumers to be aware of other business names used by the defendants, including Colonial Memorials, Stefan Memorial Group, The Memorial Company, Gallagher Memorials, Alessi Memorials, 1843 Memorials/Cartledge, and 1843 New Britain/Quakertown Memorials.

The PAG also advises consumers who have been affected by these companies to contact the attorney general's office at 800-441-2555 or www.attorneygeneral.gov.

For more information on this action, please visit:

https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/taking-action/press-releases/ag-shapiro-files-second-complaint-against-stefan-family-and-headstone-businesses