GREENFIELD — Greenfield Granite is facing mounting legal troubles in the midst of separate state and local investigations, including a lawsuit filed by the state attorney general that seeks restitution for more than a dozen customers.
The office of Attorney General Curtis Hill sued the local monument company and its registered agent, Cynthia A. Heck, Pendleton, on Friday, Sept. 18. The civil action, which also seeks an injunction and a temporary restraining order against the business, accuses the company under the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act of taking customers’ money without providing gravestones they ordered.
Heck is the mother of Amie Strohl, who was running the business with her husband, James Strohl, until she died on Sept. 8.
Her death, which authorities said was of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, came on the same day she was to appear in small claims court to answer a complaint that Greenfield Granite had not delivered a grave marker a customer had paid for months earlier. There are currently five civil cases pending against the business in the county courts. But many other customers are seeking restitution.
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“No one with an ounce of compassion wants to hear about a business taking advantage of grieving customers trying to achieve closure after losing loved ones,” Hill said in a news release.
A second investigation continues. Detectives with the Greenfield Police Department have taken some 70 complaints from customers.
Local officials have also revealed they discovered several cremains inside the business. GPD Lt. Nichole Gilbert, who is in charge of the investigation, wasn’t immediately certain how many people’s remains were being stored there.
“That’s something new we’ve discovered, so we’re taking a hard look at that,” Gilbert said. “We’re still getting cases turned in.”
Recently, local officers have observed individuals at the business turning away customers while workers appeared to be removing items from the business.
That’s why the attorney general also filed a request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order aimed at preventing the company from removing, selling or transferring assets until the legal process plays out.
“We have laws in place to protect Hoosiers when businesses abandon their obligations to customers,” Hill said. “In this case, we want to ensure that any consumers harmed by this company’s business practices receive refunds or, if they prefer, have their orders fulfilled if products remain available.”
The state lawsuit offers a detailed breakdown of some customers’ complaints. It lists 16 families who said the company failed to provide memorial monuments after receiving full or partial payment. The suit said the business has been engaging in deceptive practices since July 2018. Gilbert noted customers are looking at a total of over $100,000 in monetary losses.
One resident whose family put their trust in the company was Sheila Carson, who, along with her sister, Margaret Scholl, had given the company $1,065 for a memorial monument and foundation for their mother’s headstone in August 2019. They added a photo option and paid another $1,267, but to date they have not received the memorial.
“It was delay after delay, always one thing after another,” Carson said.
Over the weekend, the family learned their mother’s memorial headstone was sitting on the sidewalk in front of the business.
“I’m horrified by their actions,” Carson said. “It’s the ultimate disrespect to our loved one. It’s like the other part of my mom is sitting on the street there.”
The lawsuit states other consumers did not receive memorial monuments within the stated time period or encountered significant difficulty in obtaining a refund or received the wrong type of monument.
Melissa Rieskamp has also been on an emotional roller-coaster with the business. She purchased a memorial for her son Brady, 30, who died Dec. 5, 2018. The memorial was supposed to depict a boy standing in a wheelchair reaching for the sky and would have been a perfect tribute to her son, who was born with cerebral palsy. The family paid $2,504 for the memorial, which they never received.
“I was just really shocked with all of this,” Rieskamp said. “That memorial was going to be the perfect thing for us to have closure.”
After months of delay, Rieskamp went into the business and demanded a refund. Amie Shrohl finally gave her a check, but it didn’t clear. Rieskamp held on to the check and kept trying to cash it. The check finally cleared after 3½ weeks.
“The whole thing was just so frustrating,” Rieskamp said. “At this point, I think we’ve just decided to keep Brady’s ashes rather than bury them.”
Greenfield Granite is facing six charges in the civil case presented by the attorney general.
According to court documents, the company has 20 days to respond to the action.
GPD is continuing the criminal investigation. No charges have been filed as of Monday, Sept. 21.
“It’s a dual investigation,” Gilbert said. “They’ll (the attorney general) handle the civil side of things. We are actively looking at a criminal case.”
The case has landed in Hancock County Circuit Court, where the temporary restraining order was granted Monday by Judge Scott Sirk. The judge also scheduled a hearing on a motion for the preliminary injunction for Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Calls to Greenfield Granite Co. straight to voicemail and were not returned by the Daily Reporter’s deadline Monday afternoon.
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The office of Attorney General Curtis Hill urges consumers who have complaints regarding Greenfield Granite to file a consumer complaint online at https://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/ or call the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-382-5516.
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