Posted on: Thursday, April 10, 2003

Hilo mortuary ordered to pay $37,000

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Big Island Bureau

HILO, Hawai'i — A Circuit Court judge has ordered a Hilo mortuary to pay about $37,000 in restitution to more than a dozen people who bought funeral plans from the company.

Judge Terence Yoshioka also granted a request for an injunction to bar Diego Mortuary Inc., which does business as Memorial Mortuary, from selling the "pre-need" funeral services.

The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs said the company violated state law by selling the plans when the owners were not licensed as a "pre-need funeral authority."

In a separate case, the state has filed 39 theft charges against Robert Diego, his wife, Momi, and their daughter Bobbie Jean as well as their companies, Diego Mortuary Inc. and Memorial Mortuary Plan Inc., accusing the Diegos of failing to maintain a trust account to protect the money. Trial is set for October.

The complaint by the DCCA lists 17 people who bought funeral plans from the Diegos from 1981 until last year, paying a total of almost $40,000.

When state authorities arrested the Diegos in connection with the theft case in March 2002, nine of the those buyers attempted to get refunds, but they never got their money back, according to the court complaint.

The complaint notes the mortuary did give a refund to one buyer who requested it, and provided funeral services for another buyer who died in October.

An employee of Memorial Mortuary said the Diegos would not comment.