GREENCASTLE, Pa. — More former customers are taking Greencastle Bronze and Granite to civil court. The company and owner Richard Freeman Jr. are now at the center of at least five civil lawsuits, two of them filed on Tuesday.
Freeman faces felony theft charges too. He was arrested last week, accused of accepting thousands of dollars from customers in Pennsylvania and Maryland, failing to deliver the services and gravestones they were promised.
"The amount of victims that have fallen to this business is just not right," said Rachel Cook of Chambersburg. "That's when I decided to stand up and make noise and have something be done."
Cook went to Greencastle Police more than a year after she paid Freeman $3,000 for her late husband's headstone. It never came and Cook is suing.
Court documents show Greencastle Police questioned Freeman after some customer complaints earlier this year.
He reportedly told them he was waiting for a stone delivery from a company in Virginia, but when investigators reached out, that company had no record of Freeman making an order.
"You want to be able to trust people in this business," Cook said. "You go to them at a time of loss and grief and you're just completely at their mercy."
At least nineteen alleged victims have come forward, claiming Freeman stole a total of more than $68,000.
When FOX43 approached the business on Tuesday, a sign on the door informed us the sales office would be closed for the week.
Now -- the business has a 'for rent' sign posted in the window. Business phone lines are disconnected and the company website is down.
FOX43 reached out to Freeman by email and phone, again, with no response.
Criminal and Civil proceedings are expected to begin on Tuesday, May 9.