NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York Attorney General Letitia James on Friday announced she has filed a lawsuit against two cemetery monument companies for allegedly cheating New Yorkers out of more than $50,000.
The lawsuit claimed Polanco Monuments and Heavenly Monuments failed to provide grieving families with the tombstones and other burial monuments they purchased, refused to issue refunds, failed to provide customers with contracts, falsely advertised their services and conducted unsolicited offers through mail and home visits.
“During the darkest time in their lives, families shouldn’t have to deal with the additional burden of being preyed upon and cheated by companies that are supposed to help them,” said Attorney General James. “Polanco and Heavenly Monuments shamelessly stole thousands from grieving New Yorkers who were simply trying to give family members and loved ones the respect they deserve. On my watch, we will never allow deceptive practices of any kind and we will not hesitate to hold bad actors accountable to the fullest of the law.”
According to the suit, owners Ramon Polanco and Juan Polanco engaged in the scheme to sell burial monuments that were never produced and illegally advertised and solicited business.
The two company owners allegedly distributed flyers and interacted directly with customers in home visits, on their website and other online platforms – such as Yelp – to trick buyers into paying upfront fees for items that would never be delivered.
“When consumers followed up to inquire about the status of their purchase, they were repeatedly stalled with excuses and often, their calls went unanswered,” James said in a release. “Many of their contracts failed to include terms required under state law. When consumers showed up in person to inquire about their purchase status, they learned that the businesses had abruptly closed without any prior notice.”
The attorney general is seeking to prevent Polanco and Heavenly Monuments from engaging in further deceptive behavior and hopes to have both owners pay restitution to 26 individuals, “who were cheated out of a total of more than $50,000.”
James’ office is also seeking access to financial records to determine if any other customers were similarly scammed.
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