Attorney General's News Release

June 11, 2012

Attorney General Koster reaches settlement with St. Louis owner of closed monument company

St. Louis, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster has reached a settlement with the owner of a closed St. Louis monument company to complete gravestones he sold but never provided and to refund the cost of headstones to families who ultimately purchased other headstones.

Under the settlement, Jeffrey W. Thomure, who owned and operated Standard Monument Company before he closed it, must complete and provide headstones that consumers purchased for ten graves but never received. The agreement also requires Thomure to pay $4,699.14 in restitution to five families who eventually purchased other headstones because the defendant failed to provide the ones they ordered from him. Under the terms of the settlement, Thomure agreed to pay the state $2,000 in fines and is barred from violating the Merchandising Practices Act in the future.

“I only hope that this judgment helps bring closure to the families who have fought to honor their loved ones with appropriate final monuments,” Koster said. “My office will continue to pursue people and businesses that violate the state’s consumer protection laws.”

The settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General in August 2011, alleging that Thomure collected money from consumers for headstones, but failed to provide the headstones or a refund.