Defunct funeral home employee charged over 'pre-need' funds

HOBART, Ind. (AP) - The former treasurer of a defunct northern Indiana funeral home faces felony charges for allegedly misusing funds set aside for customers' funerals.

A Lake County judge entered a not guilty plea Monday on 67-year-old Jacqueline Kraft's behalf. She faces theft, corrupt business influence and other charges.

Prosecutors allege that between 2003 and 2015 customers paid Kraft Funeral Home funds intended for their funerals or cremations when they died.

But court documents say customers' money was in multiple cases never deposited into a "pre-need" fund.

Kraft allegedly told investigators she intended to put the money into that fund. Her attorney declined to comment on the case Tuesday.

The Post-Tribune reports the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency has received 16 requests for more than $86,000 in restitution from the business' former customers.

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Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/