Family says owners of metro Atlanta funeral home that burned down disappeared with their money

MARIETTA, Ga. — Several months after a fire damaged a well-known funeral home in Marietta, a family is accusing the owners of theft.

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The family pre-paid for a funeral before the fire but said the owners disappeared after it happened.

The funeral home was in foreclosure at the time of the fire and scheduled to be auctioned off. Jen Borkat still has the receipt from the funeral she pre-planned in 2022, as her mother, a breast cancer survivor, battled another round of cancer. Borkat said The Norman Medford-Peden Funeral Home and Crematory in Marietta received a little more than $1,000 for cremation services.

“She had chemo and radiation the entire time. She fought hard for three years but during that three years, there were many times we thought we’d lose her. My husband because he had done the same for my dad when he passed away, pre-planned the funeral so that it would be one less thing we’d have to worry about during that time and that was in 2022,” said Borkat.

Fast forward to 2024, flames ripped through the funeral home, damaging the building.

According to the fire report, investigators were unable to determine the cause. The case was closed. But Borkat said the owners failed to notify her and failed to issue her a refund.

“We never received a phone call. We saw it on the news,” said Borkat.

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Borkat said her attempts to track down the owners were unsuccessful. Sadly, Borkat’s mother passed away months later.

“I got really angry about it. I thought, ‘Wow, we just paid for a second funeral, we have a grieving family, how many people has this potentially happened to?,’” said Borkat.

Documents obtained through the Georgia Secretary of State’s website reveal notices that were sent to the owner in 2021, for failure to file an annual registration. The same documents reveal the business was dissolved the same year because the registration wasn’t filed.

“They took our money after they already knew it was being dissolved,” said Borkat.

That’s what Borkat said she learned after she had suspicions about the fire. Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell attempted to contact the owners by phone, email and social media, but never heard back.

“It’s unconscionable that a funeral home would take advantage of a family this way. It’s not about the money for us I want to know how many other people who maybe couldnt recoup the funds went through this,” said Borkat.

Borkat said her family filed multiple complaints with various agencies, including the Better Business Bureau, The Georgia State Secretary, the police and several agencies.

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