Pet CrematoryClass Action Alleges Bodies Dumped, Wrong Ashes Returned

Case Overview: A Pittsburgh funeral director and owner of Eternity Pet Memorial is facing a class action lawsuit alleging he defrauded grieving pet owners by taking payment for cremations but instead dumping the bodies in a landfill and returning the wrong ashes.

Consumers Affected: Pet owners who used the services of Eternity Pet Memorial in Pittsburgh between 2021 and 2024.

Court: Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas

A Pittsburgh funeral director is at the center of a disturbing lawsuit that claims he took more than $600,000 from grieving pet owners to cremate their beloved animals—only to toss the bodies in a landfill and hand out the wrong ashes.

The lawsuit, filed in Allegheny County, accuses Patrick Vereb, owner of Eternity Pet Memorial and Vereb Funeral Home, of wide-scale fraud, CBS reports. Pennsylvania’s Attorney General says that from 2021 to 2024, Vereb allegedly accepted payments for thousands of pet cremations but instead discarded the animals' remains and returned ashes that didn’t belong to the pets.

The criminal case includes multiple felony fraud charges, and now a civil class action lawsuit is ramping up as heartbroken pet owners demand accountability.

Lawsuit Details Heartbreaking Allegations of Body Disposal and Ash Swapping

Aimee Cain and Chris Brownfield are the lead plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit, and they say they’re reliving the grief of losing their pets—this time, with added betrayal.

“These families were deceived,” Rob Peirce, one of the attorneys representing the pair, told CBS. "They wanted to memorialize their animal. They wanted to have the animal properly laid to rest, and that didn't happen. And they paid a lot of money to have proper services performed.”

Cain and Brownfield, like many others, believed they were giving their pets a respectful sendoff. Now they’re pushing for answers—and for others not to suffer the same fate.

Thousands of Pets Potentially Mishandled, Few Answers Provided

According to the lawsuit, roughly 6,500 animals may have been improperly cremated—or not cremated at all. Instead, their remains were allegedly disposed of in a landfill. In many cases, families received urns of ashes with no way of knowing whose remains they actually held.

"I'm afraid this is the tip of the iceberg, and this matter could be worse," Peirce warned. His firm, along with Lynch Carpenter, has already heard from dozens of concerned pet owners and expects the number to grow. The goal is not only justice—but closure.

Peirce said he wanted to give pet owners some piece and “to at least know what happened, and why.”

"We are going to attempt to make all these victims whole," he said. "These animals were members of their family, and they firmly believe their family was not treated with any type of respect. In fact, it was total disrespect for them, and it sickens them today."

He said the lawsuit is also looking to get money back for the victims because they didn't get the service they paid for. Peirce said they want to hear from anyone who used Eternity Pet Memorial and has questions about whether or not their pet was properly laid to rest. 

The lawsuit also seeks to recoup the money paid for services that plaintiffs say were never delivered.

Pet Cremation Industry Faces Growing Scrutiny

This isn’t the first time the pet cremation industry has come under fire. Earlier this year, two Colorado veterinary clinics sued a crematory they say mass-buried animals despite charging for individual cremations.

And in California, Hillarie Levy launched a legislative push after receiving the wrong ashes for her dog. In her state, the industry is largely unregulated—no licenses, no required tracking systems, and no oversight. She and her lawyers are pushing for legislation that would mandate tagging systems, video monitoring, and licensing through the California Veterinary Medical Board.

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