The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office has set a public hearing date of Oct. 6 for customers who purchased pre-need plans from Sunset Gardens Memorial Park in Laurel.
Last month, the Secretary of State’s Office was named receiver of four cemeteries owned by Don Middleton of Rogers Memorial Management LLC, due to a misappropriation of pre-need trust funds. Those cemeteries include Sunset Gardens; Prentiss Memorial Park in Baldwyn; Liberty Memorial Park in Booneville; and Pinecrest Memorial Park in Pittsboro.
At least $150,000 generated from the sale of funeral contracts at Sunset Gardens couldn’t be located.
Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said public hearings are being held in Laurel, Booneville and Pittsboro over the next several weeks to compile more accurate account information.
“Don Middleton has depleted the trust account, abandoned the cemeteries, and left Mississippians and the State looking for ways to fill the hole,” Hosemann said. “We are asking for all customers to come forward with their account information to determine exactly how much money should be in the pre-need trust and what contractual obligations exist.”
Hosemann said customers should bring their contract purchase information and copies of their payment history to leave with Secretary of State representatives.
“Even if you have already provided your information to the Office of the Attorney General, we are asking customers to come and update their information into our system,” he said. “This information is critical to the Court and some resolution of this matter.”
In order to expedite wait times in the information gathering process, the Office of the Secretary of State has subdivided the times according to last name. If customers cannot attend during their specified time, they are asked to come at any time they have available.
The Laurel public hearing will be held at the Jones County Courthouse board of supervisors room. The times are as follows:
• A-F, 8 to 9:30 a.m.
• G-L, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• M-S, 1 to 3 p.m.
• T-Z, 3 to 5 p.m.
Hosemann said all four cemeteries were created as limited liability companies, which are not legally required in Mississippi to file an annual report.
“There are over 90,000 LLCs operating in Mississippi,” he said. “They have no such statutory requirements. That’s a huge hole, one in which we plan to address this next year in the legislative agenda. As unusual as it may sound, there will be some limited liability company reform coming out of the cemetery issue. This is a good reason why it needs to be that way.”
According to the Secretary of State’s Website, the four LLCs in question were created on Nov. 16, 2000, by Walter E. Gomel, an Atlanta-based attorney.
“I called him for information about who owned the property, what went on, operating agreements, and books and records,” Hosemann said. “He told me he hadn’t heard from the people who owned the cemetery in four or five years. He filed it the one time, and didn’t know anything.”
Hosemann said there should be public knowledge of the state’s limited liability companies.
“People don’t know anymore who they’re dealing with,” he said. “The public has a right to know and be able to rely on that information.”
The other meetings are scheduled for Sept. 29-30 at the Prentiss County Courthouse in Booneville, and Oct. 1 at the Calhoun County Courthouse in Pittsboro.
If a customer cannot attend one of the meetings, they can call the Regulation and Enforcement Division of the Office of the Secretary of State at 601-359-9055.
Local News
Public hearing on Sunset Gardens set
Customers who purchased pre-need plans urged to attend
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