Big Isle mortuary
agrees to refunds
HILO » Three principal officers of Memorial Mortuary agreed yesterday with the state attorney general's office to repay a total of $150,000 to customers who bought pre-need funeral services.
The three Memorial officers are Robert Diego, wife Momi and daughter Bobby Jean. Under the agreement made in Hilo Circuit Court yesterday, each is responsible for $50,000 of the total. If any of them fail to pay, then Diego Mortuary, doing business as Memorial Mortuary, is responsible for the debt up to the full $150,000.
Memorial was supposed to place 70 percent of pre-need sales in a trust fund to pay for funerals later. In the 1980s, Memorial got into financial trouble and stopped paying into the trust fund, which is now empty, said Deputy Attorney General Rick Damerville. He said customers lost an estimated $250,000.
This restitution is separate from any punishment to which the Diegos may be sentenced arising from theft charges. They pleaded no contest last year to one charge each of theft. Judge Terence Yoshioka sent sentencing yesterday for June 18.
Despite the $150,000 figure, Damerville said none of the pre-need buyers will get any money soon.
"Don't expect the check to be in the mail tomorrow. I will be ecstatic if we recover that sum of money," he said.
The corporation has no money, and the settlement requires the three Diegos to pay just $100 per month, at which rate they would need about 42 years to pay the money back.
The law provides that defendants cannot be assessed more than they are reasonably able to pay, Damerville said.
The result is likely to mean pre-need buyers will get back only a fraction of what they paid, Damerville said. But the Diegos might come into extra money somehow. "Sometimes Santa Claus smiles," he said.
So far, 137 people have indicated they want their money back, but there are more customers who have not come forward, Damerville said.
He urged anyone wanting a refund to write to his office, 425 Queen St., Honolulu 96813; or to call 808-586-1160.
Robert Diego's attorney, Brian DeLima, said a separate corporation, West Hawaii Mortuary, owned by different Diego family members, has performed about 40 prepaid funerals since October 2002.
"Optimistically, they hope that they will be able to honor every single one of these plans," he said.
Damerville conceded that the more customers there are who want money back, the smaller will be the amount they get.
He said it is common for people not to receive money that the court says is owed to them. Referring to his experience in private practice, he said, "I could paper my walls with judgments that have not been satisfied."
Regarding sentencing, DeLima said an agreement says Momi and Bobby Jean Diego will not receive prison time. Damerville is expected to seek prison for Robert Diego, he said. Damerville declined to comment.