Terina Turner said she paid the business that operated on Kingsridge Drive more than $1,000 but failed to receive a headstone, much like the dozens of claims made to the Miami Twp. Police Department earlier this year.
“Just because you have a lawsuit against somebody does not mean you are getting any money,” Turner said.
Miami Twp. police in March announced an investigation against the co-owner of the business. Police said then about 60 people throughout the Miami Valley said they were victims.
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County court records do not show any criminal charges against Boykin or American Memorial Monuments regarding this issue. A message left with a Miami Twp. detective was not returned as of Wednesday afternoon.
The state’s lawsuit filed Monday in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court seeks $25,000 against each defendant “for each appropriate violation” stated in the suit. The suit states AMM’s address in the Cleveland suburb of Westlake, but indicates the “principal place of business” was in Montgomery County.
Separate Montgomery County court records show more than $200,000 in at least 10 judgment liens against AMM filed this year and more than $25,000 in liens against Boykin.
American Memorial Monuments is out of business, according to the Better Business Bureau’s website. Attempts to reach the business locally and at the Westlake address listed in the lawsuit were unsuccessful.
Similar attempts to reach Boykin were unsuccessful.
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Another victim, Douglass Steinbruegg, said he also paid American Memorial Monuments and Boykin more than $1,000 for headstones for himself and his wife. But the company never delivered, he said.
“The wheels of justice turn slowly but at least something’s being done,” Steinbruegg said.
Like Turner, Steinbruegg was able to get headstones from another business.
The lawsuit stems from 22 complaints submitted to the attorney general’s office Consumer Protection Section since October 2017, according to the state. The complaints blame the business for financial losses totaling $50,000.
In some cases, customers received their orders but said the gravestones differed from their chosen designs, according to the AG’s office. Others said their gravestones were not permitted at their selected cemeteries, despite the business assuring them otherwise.
The suit seeks an order requiring the defendants to reimburse affected customers and pay civil penalties. It also requests an injunction prohibiting Boykin from running a business in Ohio for five years.
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