Two former employees of Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City are accused of turning burial plots into a cash cow, allegedly running a yearslong scheme that sold graves to grieving families while quietly diverting the money. Investigators say the fraud targeted older customers and left some families without clear title to the plots they thought they owned. The former workers, Syvila Schneider and Akhilesh Lala, now face felony charges tied to the alleged operation.
According to court documents reported by KFOR, the scheme ran from 2017 through 2021 and involved Facebook ads, on-site sales and deed changes that shifted burial rights to a third party. Investigators say Schneider altered multiple cemetery deeds and that customer payments were funneled into accounts linked to Schneider or Lala, with losses topping $1 million. The filings describe vulnerable, elderly buyers being taken advantage of, and note that a corporate owner first spotted irregularities in May 2021.
“It’s a really terrible time to pull a scam on somebody,” Jack Mitchel told KFOR as he reacted to the allegations. Court records indicate the FBI initially worked the case before it was returned to Oklahoma City police. Investigators say Lala was arrested and later bonded out, while Schneider is the subject of an active arrest warrant and had not been taken into custody as of the initial reporting.
How Investigators Say the Scheme Worked
Detectives allege that Lala posted Facebook ads offering cemetery plots, then met buyers at Memorial Park to close the deal, collecting payments that never hit the cemetery’s official accounts. Schneider is accused of altering deed records so titles reflected a third party instead of the actual buyers, a move investigators say left some families without legal ownership of the burial spaces they believed they had purchased. Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery is operated by the Dignity Memorial network, which lists the property’s contact information on its website.
Legal Status and What Comes Next
Prosecutors will decide on formal charges as detectives and federal agents continue combing through records and speaking with potential victims. If Schneider and Lala are convicted, they could face prison time and be ordered to repay the stolen funds, although any punishment will ultimately be up to the court. Authorities are urging anyone who believes they were scammed in connection with Memorial Park plots to contact Oklahoma City police so their claims can be documented and investigated…