OAN Staff Abril Elfi
2:12 PM – Tuesday, April 29, 2025
A funeral-home director has been charged after he allegedly gave pet owners random animals’ ashes.
On Monday, prosecutors stated that Jacob Vereb, 70, the director of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial in Pittsburgh, has been charged with improperly disposing of “thousands of dogs and cats,” for which their owners had entrusted him to provide cremations and the return of their ashes.
“Vereb took money in exchange for private cremation services, then disposed of many of the pets at a landfill and provided customers with ashes of other, unknown animals,” officials said, according to ABC News.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday (R-Pa.) reported that the suspect pocketed over $650,000 between 2021 and 2024 in the scheme operated out of his funeral home, which also provides services for human bodies.
According to an investigation into the business, there had been over 6,500 pet-owning victims across Pennsylvania, from Allegheny, Armstrong, Washington and Westmoreland counties.
”This case is disturbing and will cause devastation and heartache for many Pennsylvanians,” the Pennsylvania AG said.
“Our pets are members of our families, and this defendant betrayed and agonized pet owners who entrusted him to provide dignified services for their beloved cats and dogs. I commend our investigative team for a comprehensive review of voluminous records which uncovered this long-running pattern of theft and deception.”
“Nearly a dozen veterinary practices and businesses worked with the Office of Attorney General to confirm that Vereb collected at least $657,517 in fees from pet owners who were promised a private cremation for their pet, but did not receive the actual ashes of their pet,” the AG’s 0ffice also said .“Eternity Pet Memorial received the pets directly from consumers or through area veterinarians.”
Vereb surrendered on Monday and was charged with felony receiving stolen items, theft by fraud, and deceptive business methods. He was arraigned and released under his own recognizance.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts