Historic Springfield funeral home owner convicted of theft

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The owner of a well-known Springfield funeral home was convicted in federal court of collecting Social Security money on a woman who had died and his license is under review by the state.

Robert C. Henry II, one of the owners of the Robert C. Henry Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to a charge of theft of public money in September 2016 in the Southern District of Ohio Western Division, according to court documents obtained by the Springfield News-Sun.

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He agreed to pay $181,000 in restitution in a plea deal and serve probation for up to three years. Calls to Henry’s public defender and Henry's family members by the News-Sun weren’t returned.

Henry wrote in a letter to the Ohio Board of Funeral Embalmers and Funeral Directors that he had power of attorney over the woman who died and when she did the checks continued to be issued.

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“I forwarded those checks to her family,” Henry said. “Because I had (power of attorney) for this lady, I was held responsible for those funds. I was not able to locate her family after death nor was I able to prove that they received those funds, so I was held responsible for taking the money and I was convicted of a crime that I was responsible for but did not actually commit.”

Henry's funeral director license is still active, according to the state of Ohio's online license check system. However, the Ohio Board of Funeral Embalmers and Funeral Directors were reviewing his license this past spring because of an untruth on the application, according to a board agenda obtained by the Springfield News-Sun.

For the full story, go to SpringfieldNewsSun.com.