By David Owens, newseditor@laurelleadercall.com
Over 350 residents flocked to the Jones County Courthouse Tuesday to discover the fate of their pre-need burial accounts with Sunset Gardens Memorial Park. The turnout was so great that Delbert Hosemann, Mississippi Secretary of State, said Wednesday that his office will remain “swamped” for the next few days.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office was named temporary receiver/overseer last month of Sunset Gardens and three other cemeteries, then owned by Don Middleton of Rogers Memorial Management LLC.
Middleton was arrested by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office Tuesday on numerous charges including violating state law concerning accounting and reporting requirements.
Middleton, 65, was discovered in Pennsylvania and extradited to the Calhoun County jail. He faces a total of six counts in Jones, Calhoun and Prentiss Counties for violating Mississippi Code Section 41-43-38. In addition to Sunset Gardens, Middleton owned Pinecrest Memorial Park in Calhoun County, Prentiss Memorial Gardens in Baldwyn and Liberty Memorial Gardens in Booneville.
The charges against Middleton are classified as misdemeanors, which carry fines of up to $1,000 and/or jail time of up to one year.
By phone Wednesday, Hosemann said arresting Middleton was just the first step in righting the wrongs.
“The first step is always, in my opinion, stop the bleeding,” he said. “Make sure the people that did this can’t do it again. We’ve done that.
“The second step is to get an inventory of what harm has been done and what was promised to Mississippi citizens,” Hosemann said. “We’re completing that process.”
Hosemann said that in addition to the 350 people that turned out in Laurel, over 300 came to similar events in Booneville and Calhoun City last week.
“There’s so many people that have been harmed,” he said. “It may approach 1,000 individuals by the time we get everything into our computers. A massive amount of dollars have been misused in Mississippi over the years.”
Hosemann described Tuesday as a “good news, bad news day” for his office.
“We’re pleased so many took the time to come out, but it’s very concerning how many people had their money taken,” he said. “We’re making progress towards taking an inventory of what had been promised and what commitments need to be honored.”
Hosemann said the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office was given 180 days to complete their temporary receiver/overseer process and “will make that time frame.”
“Hopefully, we can begin the process of finding out who would have an interest in purchasing and maintaining these cemeteries,” he said. “I want to thank the several individuals who have been working down there, taking care of the cemeteries and cutting the grass.”
Hosemann said the public hearings in Laurel, Booneville and Calhoun City were necessary because “no one would have purchased them as it stood.”
“They wouldn’t know what contracts had been given or what deeds are out there,” he said. “We ordered a title search (at Sunset Gardens) which should be in very shortly, and are looking for deeds on the property at the other cemeteries.
“In Vicksburg, we discovered a $2.2 million deed of trust on the property,” Hosemann added. “We don’t anticipate that here hopefully, but we’re looking for any other outstanding liens on the property.”
Hosemann said he hoped to be able to accept bids on the cemeteries very soon.
“It was not the position of the state to act as a receiver for a long period,” he said. “It was our intention from day one to come in and stop the bleeding, get the inventory and titlework done, present it to the court and put it back in private hands. Hopefully, this will get us back on financially sound footing.”
