02-04-2025
New Haven headstone company owner speaks after customers claim they were scammed
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Grieving families say they've been taken advantage of by a local monument company. They say all they're trying to do is honor their loved ones who've passed.
Since we first aired this story, it has taken many twists and turns. Now, a good Samaritan has stepped forward, we've learned the Connecticut Attorney General's Office is taking swift action, and the owner of this monument company talked exclusively with News 8 Investigative Reporter Jeff Derderian.
Connecticut families claim they were scammed by monuments company
'Anyone that has a stone, they are going to get it, but right now I'm having my lawyer dealing with all this,' said Eric Reichbart, the owner of Spartan-Giordano Monuments in New Haven.
Michelle Groom said she paid in full for her mom's stone, but still doesn't have it. It sits unfinished behind the business's fence.
'He showed me the mockup, her picture is right here, I finished paying him off, and I never heard nothing else,' Groom said. 'I wanted to put it down for her birthday because I wasn't ready at the time when she passed, because it makes it final.'
Groom is not alone.
Willona Ferguson is still waiting for her mom's marker. But her story took an unexpected turn. A stranger has stepped forward, offering to help the family get the cemetery marker at a deep discount.
'My family is very, very grateful and thankful,' Ferguson said. 'But I still, even for other families, we want to see justice served because this shouldn't happen at all.'
Reichbart answered the door and answered our questions. He promised he would get people their stones once he was in a new location, and he never meant to hurt anyone.
'Listen, when I make a stone, I treat it, I make it a really good stone,' Reichbart said. 'I had no idea I was going to get sick.'
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Connecticut Attorney General William Tong told News 8 that a 14-page civil demand letter is now being sent to the owner. The letter demands several things from the owner, including information related to any complaints.
Specifically, all communications, contracts, agreements, orders, bills, payments and a complete description of all services provided to the consumer.
'The Civil Investigative Demand or CID requires information by a certain date, and this is an actual law enforcement response, so we do expect it to be taken seriously,' Tong said.
Reichbart said he'll personally contact everyone when he's in his new spot. The attorney general's office sent him a demand letter, which he must answer by 5 p.m. April 25.
Watch the full story above.
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