Docs: Anderson funeral director overcharged families, spent $47k on massages, country club fees and lawn care

ANDERSON, Ind. — A former Madison County funeral director is facing felony theft, fraud, forgery and corrupt business influence charges. Anderson police accuse her of overcharging families so she could spend tens of thousands of stolen dollars on herself and trying to cover her tracks at Legacy Cremation and Funeral Services.

According to charging documents, 33-year-old Adrianne McCoy used the funds she improperly charged grieving families to pay for country club fees, utility bills, a hairdresser and a masseuse.

“It’s sad that someone would use that opportunity to take money to live the life they want to live at the expense of people who are grieving probably one of the worst times of their life,” said Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings.

Documents report how McCoy would change the prices of burials on paper, take the overage cash from families and transfer it to an account she could write personal checks from. She’s suspected of stealing over $47,800 from the company and families between 2024 and now.

Only a recent budget is reported to have been thoroughly investigated by police, though McCoy was employed by Legacy Cremation and Funeral Services for eight years.

“She’s writing checks, using the debit card, credit card, to finance her lifestyle, and no one’s saying anything,” Cummings said. “So, I suspect she thought she was going to get away with it for a long time.”

A funeral home employee made a report after noticing the missing money, and documents list out numerous things McCoy spent the money on like lawn care and children’s summer camp.

In addition to $3,225.65 specifically owed back to families due to lost cash or overcharging, documents indicate $6,785.58 is owed due to false Medicaid billing, $4,582.15 is owed to trustees for incorrect burial billing and an estimated $10,000 was used for personal Amazon purchases.

In a statement, Legacy Cremation and Funeral Services Executive Vice President Jan Smith said the following:

“We acted swiftly to release McCoy once criminal activity was detected. Most of the malfeasance was directed towards our company and not our customers. We are pleased that law enforcement is pressing charges.”

However, FOX59/CBS4’s request for clarification — and question about whether affected families have been notified and refunded the difference — went unanswered by the funeral home.

“That makes me wonder how much … if she’s been overcharging everybody since she’s been doing it,” one man told FOX59/CBS4.

One man, who asked to remain anonymous, now wonders whether he is one of the individuals McCoy defrauded. He said they’ve relied on the company after losing more than one loved one over the past couple of years.

“Like that old saying goes, ‘You can’t take the money with you when you’re gone,'” he said. “Hopefully karma catches up to her real fast.”

According to online records, the State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Services suspended McCoy’s license last month pending her full disciplinary case.

During the board’s meeting on Oct. 2, the company detailed several occasions on which McCoy allegedly fraudulently moved money around. On two of those occasions, a representative said McCoy sold families a direct cremation, paid in full. Then, the representative said McCoy filed for Medicaid, took the $1,200 each family should have received directly and used it to write checks.

Investigators report McCoy admitted to writing some of the personal checks when she was questioned in September. Police now have a warrant out for her arrest. At the time of this article’s publication, online court records showed the warrant was still active.

According to the prosecutor, investigators are still looking into the books from before last year. If they find that McCoy stole an additional $3,000 or more, her fraud and theft charges could be upgraded to level five felonies, potentially adding years to her sentence if convicted.

A list of unauthorized fraudulent purchases by Adrianne McCoy, according to the probable cause affidavit:

• Anderson Country Club (personal use): $2,541, $43.03, $150, $180, $600, $305, $260, $216.27
• Anderson City Utilities (personal use): $300, $200, $129.78, $100.96, $200, $135.82, $172, $255.21, $180
• Health coach: $100
• Hairdresser: $150, $225
• Personal medical care: $160
• Property management (check signed by brother-in-law who does not work for the company): $1,000
• Personal painter: $1,670.15, $700, $529.85
• Personal lawn care: $200, $450
• East Side Church of God (child’s summer camp): $90
• Personal esthetician and massage: $300
• Hairdresser: $450
• McCoy’s father who does not work for the company: $200, $275, $100, $46.90, $400
• Personal friend, unaffiliated with the company: $964.35, $527.10
• Beauty bar: $600
• Personal photographer: $150
• Personal friend: $540
• Jiffy Lube: $111.51, $86.52
• Personal car repairs: $858.27, $269.49, $89.73
• East Side Church of God (child’s summer camp): $125, $90
• Personal lawn care: $212.50, $600, $250, $100, $200, $60, $304, $100, $1,947, $510, $118.75, $800
• Personal auto detailing: $166.50, $166.50, $166.50