SENTENCING SET FOR CEMETERY OWNER WHO DEFRAUDED HUNDREDS OF CUSTOMERS SEEKING GRAVE MARKERS

WHEELING, W.Va. — A cemetery owner who admitted taking money from hundreds of customers for grave markers that were never delivered is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on November 10, 2026.

Jeffrey Phares, 65, of Fayetteville, will appear at 10:30 a.m. before U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey at the federal courthouse in Wheeling.

Phares pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March 2026, admitting that he misled customers who placed orders for grave markers at cemeteries he owned and operated across North Central West Virginia.

According to court documents, approximately 225 victims are connected to more than $600,000 in unfulfilled orders. The case involved customers who paid for permanent memorials intended to identify and preserve the burial places of deceased relatives.

Phares owned and operated Greenlawn Memorial Park in New Martinsville, Elkins Memorial Gardens in Elkins, Greenlawn Memorial Cemetery in Clarksburg, and Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Jane Lew.

Customers placed orders with Phares and provided payment for grave markers. Phares then sent design approvals that gave customers the impression that their orders were progressing toward completion.

The grave markers were not provided as promised. Phares admitted using the customers’ money for personal purposes instead of completing the orders.

The design-approval process was a central part of the fraud because it allowed the transactions to appear legitimate after payments had been accepted. Customers were left without the memorials they purchased, and the federal restitution process is reviewing their documented financial losses.

The financial damage extends across approximately 225 individual victims, but the effect of the offense cannot be measured solely by the amount of money involved. Grave-marker purchases are tied to burial arrangements and the permanent commemoration of family members. The unfulfilled orders left customers without products purchased for deeply personal purposes.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Phares agreed to pay restitution to the victims of his criminal conduct. He must also provide federal authorities with the records and other documentation necessary to determine the amount owed.

The final restitution figure has not yet been established. Federal officials will calculate that amount before sentencing after reviewing victim contracts, payment records, and other supporting information.

Victims who have already submitted contracts involving Phares to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, U.S. Probation Office, or West Virginia Attorney General’s Office do not need to interpret the sentencing announcement as a request to submit the same information again. Federal authorities confirmed that previously submitted materials have been received and are being reviewed as part of the restitution process.

Restitution is intended to address qualifying financial losses caused by the offense. The amount ordered by the court will be determined separately from any prison sentence imposed.

Phares faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. The statutory maximum does not represent a predetermined sentence.

Judge Bailey will determine the sentence after reviewing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the terms of the plea agreement, the losses connected to the offense, the number of victims, and other factors required under federal law.

U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey announced the scheduled sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas is prosecuting the case on behalf of the federal government.

The FBI investigated the case with the Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office and the Wetzel County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.

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