By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
The former bookkeeper at Nashua’s Farwell Funeral Home was allegedly helping herself to the business’s bank accounts, taking more than half a million dollars, according to court records.
Lasaundra Simmons, 51, is now facing 10 counts of felony wire fraud after she was arrested last month in North Carolina. Simmons was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court in Concord.
Dana Farwell, the third-generation owner of the funeral home, said the accounts of customers who bought prepaid funeral plans are safe.
“I am saddened to have discovered the alleged embezzlement by one of our employees. Fortunately, our pre-planned funeral trust accounts are safe, and we have implemented stricter safeguards to prevent this from happening again,” Farwell said in a statement.
Simmons is currently being detained on the charges, according to court records. As well as being the funeral home’s accountant, Simmons also wrote obituaries for the deceased.
The first known theft allegedly took place in June of 2015, when Simmons began transferring money from Farwell accounts into her personal bank account. The last known alleged theft took place in January of last year.
According to the indictment sheet filed in court, Simmons tried to mask some of the transfers by claiming they were legitimate payments from the business. On Dec. 20, 2016, Simmons wired herself $1,950 for a bogus Christmas bonus, according to the indictment. In June of 2017, she wired $7,500 to herself, supposedly for a phony profit-sharing plan, the indictment states.
Over the years, Simmons allegedly paid herself thousands for phantom consulting, commissions, and even educational reimbursements, according to the indictment.
Last year, Simmons moved to North Carolina where she was arrested on Dec. 11, according to court records.
Farwell thanked Nashua Police as well as FBI Agent Mark Hastbacka, and his attorney David Gottesman for their assistance.
“We trust that the Nashua Police Department, the FBI and our courts will gather the necessary evidence to render a true and just adjudication of this matter. In the meantime, we continue our nearly 90-year tradition of providing complete service and compassionate support to families as they experience a time of personal loss,” Farwell said.
Farwell’s grandfather, Charles Farwell, started the funeral home in Nashua in 1934 before Charles Farwell Jr., Dana Farwell’s father, took over the business in 1950.The business is located in a Victorian house on Lock Street where the second floor served as a home to the Farwell family starting in the 1950 through to 2000.
