JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A former Jacksonville funeral home director accused of abandoning a mortuary with bodies inside and misusing funds was back in court Thursday after pleading not guilty last year to nine counts of funeral fraud and one charge of organized fraud.
Elliott Graham is accused of misusing funeral funds, giving people the wrong ashes and abandoning the Marion Graham Mortuary in the Lake Forest Hills neighborhood.
In a quick court appearance Thursday, Graham’s attorneys and prosecutors agreed to a continuance. They will return to court on March 26.
A warrant for Graham issued in early March 2024 listed 10 felony charges against him.
The News4JAX I-TEAM obtained the warrant last year which states between April 7, 2020, and August 1, 2022, Graham “acting in his trusted capacity as a Florida-licensed Funeral Director, orchestrated, enticed, and benefited from multiple years of systematic ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud consumers who purchased preneed funeral arrangements by misappropriating funds and unlawfully withdrawing funds for preneed contracts in a cumulative amount of $90,897.66...”
Early last year, News4JAX sat down with a family whose grandmother’s body was in the funeral home.
They told us that picturing what state her body was found in was heartbreaking and they were appalled that someone they loved was treated so badly even after death.
According to Graham’s original arrest warrant, state investigators entered the Marion Graham Funeral Home in Jacksonville on Jan. 30, 2024, after spending weeks trying to get in touch with him for an inspection.
They said they found three decomposing bodies inside infested with bugs after being left for a long time without being refrigerated or air conditioned. The building had been without power since October 2023.
Graham is also accused of false insurance claims, stealing tens of thousands of dollars from customers, and stealing up to $750 from a foundation that helps grieving families pay for a child’s funeral costs.
His case prompted an urgent push to change state law.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law last May that gives the state more authority to investigate derelict funeral homes. The state law makes it a felony to mishandle remains and allows investigators to immediately enter and secure a funeral home in an emergency, including when it’s abandoned.
“So, the legislature saw this and now that gives us the ability when we do get a complaint and there’s a funeral home for some reason or another that is unoccupied or doesn’t have power, we can go in and act upon it immediately,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said. “And we’ve increased the penalties that if these bad actors are operating in a way that is not in the best interest of Floridians, then we’ve got more teeth to put them behind bars.”
Patronis, whose agency oversees funeral homes and mortuaries, also confirmed that Graham’s license to operate as a funeral home director and the license for Marion Graham Funeral Home were permanently revoked by Florida’s Board of Funeral, Cemetery, and Consumer Services.
Graham remains in Duval County jail on a $256,000 bond.
