Louisiana Funeral Home Owner Admits Fraud

The U.S. attorney in Shreveport says a funeral home owner in Vivian has pleaded guilty to defrauding 65 people of more than $400,000 in prepaid funeral and burial services.

Stephanie A. Finley says 63-year-old William James McGuire, owner and operator of McGuire Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.

She says McGuire would cash certificates of deposit meant to cover the prepaid services by telling the banks holding them that the person for whose funeral they were meant had died. She says he often provided phony funeral bills to back up his claim.

Finley says U.S. District Judge Donald Walker scheduled sentencing Feb. 3. Bank fraud carries up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

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