A Pittsburgh funeral home owner faces charges after being accused of duping over 6,500 victims who paid for pet funeral and cremation services between 2021 and 2024.
Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Dave Sunday says Patrick Vereb, owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial charged victims a total of over $650,000 for services he didn’t perform.
Vereb is accused of taking money from over 6,500 for proper, private cremation services and gave back unknown ashes to customers.
Many of the pets were thrown out in a landfill and not cremated property.
Vereb is charged with theft, receiving stolen property and deceptive business practices.
He surrendered and was arraigned on Monday and released on his own recognizance.
“This case is disturbing, and will cause devastation and heartache for many Pennsylvanians,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Our pets are members of our families, and this defendant betrayed and agonized pet owners who entrusted him to provide dignified services for their beloved cats and dogs. I commend our investigative team for a comprehensive review of voluminous records which uncovered this long-running pattern of theft and deception.”
With so many victims affected by the alleged acts of Vereb, AG Sunday’s office has established a website for people to see if they’ve been affected.