A New York funeral home chain has to cough up hundreds of thousands of dollars to customers for alleged predatory and deceptive practices, according to a settlement with the city.
Bronx-based R.G. Ortiz Funeral Homes will pay $600,000 to grieving families and $100,000 in civil penalties for actions such as refusing to tell families where the remains of their loved ones were, the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announced.
“Money will never heal the wounds R.G. Ortiz’s conduct inflicted, but we’re proud to hold this business accountable and secure justice for our neighbors,” department Commissioner Vilda Vera Mayuga said in a statement.
The business has eight different funeral homes in the five boroughs and primarily serves Spanish-speaking communities.
Since 2018, 74 consumers submitted complaints to the agency outlining R.G. Ortiz’s predatory and deceptive practices including misrepresenting or concealing the prices of services offered and failing to provide services that consumers paid for. The agency hit the chain with over 82 violations.
In one alleged incident, R.G. Ortiz presented a dead man’s body “sitting inside a plastic bag” for a viewing, the city’s consumer watchdog said.
Another time a customer’s loved one smelled of decomposition.
As part of the settlement, 28 consumers will receive approximately $104,000 in payments, with $500,000 left for other consumers who can come forward with complaints online in English (and in Spanish).
A person who answered the phone at Ortiz headquarters said no one was immediately available to comment.