Three new orders in the bankruptcy case of Michael Tomaszewski put 19 more of his victims at the front of the line -- at least as far as the bankruptcy proceeding goes -- for getting at least some of their money back from his scheme to divert funeral deposits to his own expenditures.
Tomaszewski was arrested last summer on more than 200 charges stemming from complaints that he mishandled deposits, known as prearrangement fees, for funerals and defrauded victims out of more than $500,000 in total.
Earlier this month, he entered a guilty plea to grand larceny, scheme to defraud, offering a false instrument for filing, and untimely burial and is facing a possible prison term as a result.
Separately, in February 2020 he filed for bankruptcy in Federal Court. He listed $1,094,346 in assets against $3,242,390 in liabilities.
As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay restitution to his victims. The exact amount of restitution has yet to be determined but it was revealed during his last court appearance that he has already reimbursed some of his victims.
The amounts owed to victims listed in the three recent orders are:
- $1,950
- $1,950
- $4,400
- $4,400
- $7,063.62
- $11,000
- $11,000
- $2,000
- $4,000
- $5,300
- $5,300
- $15,500
- $15,500
- $8,750
- $9,480
- $2,950
- $2,950
- $2,950
- $2,950
Many of the victims are married couples with each person having a separate claim for their individual deposits.
Under federal bankruptcy law, any money gained through fraud is a debt that is not dischargeable through Chapter 7 and victims receive priority for repayment for the first $3,025 owed to them.
For previous coverage of the Tomaszewski case, click here.
