For years, grieving families across the Philadelphia region paid thousands of dollars for headstones that never showed up. On Tuesday, the man at the center of those complaints finally admitted in federal court that it was all a scam.
Gregory J. Stefan Jr., 56, of Upper Merion pleaded guilty to a slate of federal charges after prosecutors said he pocketed advance payments from nearly 500 customers for cemetery memorials that were never delivered. Families say they spent months, and in some cases years, chasing updates and refunds that never came, even as loved ones’ graves went unmarked.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Stefan pleaded guilty to seven counts of wire fraud and four counts of filing false tax returns. Prosecutors say he entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Juan R. Sánchez and now faces a maximum possible sentence of 152 years in prison. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Rice…