GREENE COUNTY — Dozens of Central Indiana families are suing a Greene County headstone company, saying they never got what they paid for.
WRTV Investigates has also learned Indiana State Police is conducting a criminal investigation into Austin Memorial Arts.
Austin Memorial Arts, a business that sells handcrafted monuments, is located in Bloomfield in Greene County.
When WRTV Investigates stopped by on March 13, the doors were locked during business hours.
Inside, Austin Memorial Arts was full of headstones, a desk with paperwork sitting on top, and other signs of a business that had recently been operating.
Customers told WRTV Investigates Kara Kenney the business closed its doors in January with no warning.
WRTV Investigates did some checking and found no business registered with the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office under the name “Austin Memorial Arts.”
However, county records show Richard King owns part of the property where Austin Memorial Arts sits and King is also listed on the Better Business Bureau website as the owner.
WRTV Investigates counted more than 70 small claims lawsuits filed this year against Austin Memorial Arts, Richard King or both.
Customers have claimed more than $225,000 in losses, many telling the court they paid deposits or in-full for products they never received.
WRTV talked to many of the families after a March 13 court hearing in Greene County.
Gregg Roudebush of Worthington, Indiana said he paid a $10,000 deposit in December 2022 for a pyramid monument for himself and his wife.
“We are going to be cremated and put in the same box,” said Roudebush. “I don't want my kids to have to go through this."
On February 16, Roudebush filed a small claims lawsuit against Austin Memorial Arts and he later amended it to also include Richard King.
Roudebush’s lawsuit is still pending and is scheduled for a hearing on May 8.
“I just want my stone,” said Roudebush.
Other families WRTV spoke with said are grieving lost loved ones, like Kimberly Walls.
Her father, Larry Martindale, died in September 2023 in a farming accident.
“It was very unexpected, very sudden,” said Walls. “(King) claimed to be my dad's friend and respect my dad, and then for him to do this."
Walls said her family ordered a monument from Austin Memorial Arts but did not receive it before the doors closed in January 2024.
"I just don't understand how someone could do this to people in their time of grief,” said Walls.
They filed a small claims lawsuit and on March 16, they obtained a $3,745 judgment against Austin Memorial Arts and King.
"I doubt we will ever see it, but I'm hoping that the State Police will be getting the criminal case so that we can see criminal charges,” said Walls. “I'd like to see him in a very small, dark, dank jail cell."
WRTV Investigates reached out to Indiana State Police.
“The Indiana State Police is conducting a criminal investigation into the matter,” said Sgt. Kevin Getz with ISP’s Bloomington Post. “The Greene County Prosecutor’s Office is aware the Bloomington Post is conducting an active investigation and we are requesting potential victims please contact 812-332-4411.”
Robert Cullison of Odon, Indiana also has a pending small claims lawsuit.
“I’d like to see everyone get their money and for him to go to prison,” said Cullison.
Small claims hearings related to Austin Memorial Arts are scheduled into May.
The court has already granted 11 judgments totaling more than $40,000 including $1,495 for Teresa Miller of Bloomington.
“I just can't believe there are so many people affected and we probably won't get our money back,” said Miller.
Two lawsuits have been dismissed by the consumer.
The majority of the small claims lawsuits are still pending, court records show.
Richard King did not show up to court on March 13 as the magistrate heard from more than a dozen families.
WRTV Investigates was in court and did not see an attorney there to represent King or Austin Memorial Arts.
Since WRTV Investigates left Greene County, we’ve tried calling Austin Memorial Arts but the number has been disconnected.
WRTV Investigates also emailed him and tried contacting possible family members of King’s with no response.
The Indiana Attorney General’s office has received 10 complaints against Austin Memorial Arts for failing to provide a refund.
All 10 complaints are still listed as open, and none have been resolved, according to a complaint log WRTV obtained from the Indiana Attorney General’s Office.
The Better Business Bureau offers the following tips for hiring a business:
- Do your research
- Search the business name and “complaints”
- Check reviews and complaints on the BBB website
- Ask to see examples of their work
- Call their references
- Get everything in writing including a timeline for the project
- Never pay up front
- Hold back most of the money until you receive the product or the work is finished
