BATAVIA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Batavia man was sentenced Wednesday in connection to the business practices of Michael S. Tomaszewski Funeral & Cremation Chapel, LLC in Batavia.
In July 2020, The Genesee County Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of Michael S. Tomaszewski. He was accused of receiving pre-paid payments of various amounts from $350 to $15,500 for the future funeral expenses of 91 customers for which trust accounts were never opened. He faced nearly 200 charges and the total losses in regards to all of his charges were approximately $525,000.
Wednesday Tomaszewski was sentenced to two to six years in the state department of corrections on the top count of grand larceny in the third degree. He was also sentenced to a concurrent term of one and a third to four years on two other felony counts - grand larceny in the fourth degree and offering false instrument for filing.
"I'm not sure that any jail or prison sentence is going to resolve the issue of payment to victims, however this sentence I believe will go a long way to making the victims who did have money taken satisfied that some punishment has been doled out appropriate to the level of crime," said acting Genesee County District Attorney Kevin Finnell.
Tomaszewski will also have to pay restitution as part of his sentencing.
