A prominent chain of New York City funeral homes consistently exploits grieving families by misrepresenting prices, mishandling remains and failing to provide their promised services, according to a new city lawsuit against the company.
R.G. Ortiz Funeral Homes Inc. is the subject of a lawsuit announced Monday by the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. An investigation, spurred by 48 different consumer complaints filed against Ortiz with various agencies since 2019, led to the suit.
“The complaints detail egregious and unlawful conduct harming consumers during the most vulnerable and emotional moments in their lives, when they are trying to say goodbye to a loved one,” reads the suit, filed in the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings and dated April 19. The city’s investigation was based on interviews with consumers, in-person inspections and undercover visits to Ortiz’s funeral homes.
The Bronx-based company runs eight funeral homes around the city and caters to the Latino community, the suit notes. Ortiz’s most common infraction, the city says, is misrepresenting the time it takes to return cremated remains to families — although employees consistently promise a turnaround time of two to three weeks, customers are often kept waiting for months, the city said.
One woman waited up to three months to receive the ashes of her five-month-old baby that Ortiz had promised would arrive within weeks, the suit says, while others had to cancel plans after not receiving remains when they expected. Customers who seek answers about the delays “often have an extremely difficult time getting a hold of R.G. Ortiz to get updates,” the suit states.
Other details are more gruesome — the city’s complaint describes a man whose body was left inside a plastic bag at his viewing, to the distress of his grieving wife. Other consumers complained of terrible odors and remains being left to decompose, while one woman said her deceased grandson’s clothes were put on inside-out for his viewing.
The city also accuses Ortiz of dubious pricing practices. City investigators who visited several Ortiz locations within a few days in December 2023 were quoted wildly different prices for the same request for funeral services and a burial — from $12,000 at an East Harlem location to $3,500 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, the suit says.
In other cases, Ortiz appears set on concealing its prices, the city said. Itemized receipts are often not given to customers, violating a city law; prices for some products are not displayed at funeral homes; and one inexpensive casket sat in a corner under a lampshade at a Bronx location, in what struck an investigator as a deliberate attempt to lead customers to pricier caskets.
The city is seeking a range of civil penalties against Ortiz, plus restitution to each harmed consumer. Ortiz did not respond to a request for comment.
“The alleged violations by R.G. Ortiz Funeral Homes [are] appalling and unacceptable,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “No family in New York City should ever have to endure predatory treatment, especially during their time of grief and mourning.”
The city’s other recent consumer actions include a suit filed last year against Dorm2Dorm, a moving company whom it accused of duping college students and misplacing their items. A Manhattan judge ruled in favor of the city earlier this month, demanding it pay $3.8 million in restitution, after Dorm2Dorm failed to respond, records show.
Nick Garber , 2024-04-29 20:59:21
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