Bailey, son in hot water over funeral home

Updated: October 29, 2009
FREDERICKSBURG — Former area funeral director Ambrose Bailey and his son Weldon Bailey are in hot water following the dissolution of their family business.

Bailey’s Funeral Home of Fredericksburg has been out of operation since Sept. 9, when the funeral home’s license was officially suspended. The funeral home had been in business since 1954.

Bailey has been arraigned on 22 charges of forging public documents. According to Fredericksburg Circuit Court records, a grand jury indicted Bailey on Monday on multiple embezzlement charges and multiple charges related to an unlawful preneed contract.

In addition to those charges, he is due in Fredericksburg Circuit Court on Nov. 19 for arraignment on a charge of grand larceny. He has another court date set for Dec. 16.

At press time his attorney could not be reached for comment.

In addition, the Virginia Association of Funeral Directors and Embalmers alleges a number of charges in a consent agreement dated Oct. 1 with his father Weldon Bailey. The agreement allowed Weldon Bailey to forgo a formal hearing scheduled for Oct. 23.

The board charged that a payment of $5,705 for a preneed contract went into the Ambrose Bailey’s personal account instead of a trust account or insurance contract, and that money from preneed contracts dating from 1986 to 2009 from 21 other clients had gone into the business’ operating account or Bailey’s personal account.

According to the document, Ambrose Bailey’s license was suspended Oct. 11, 2007. He continued to negotiate preneed contracts, signing one and negotiating two other contracts, the document alleges.

A further allegation was that owner Weldon Bailey signed forms as an embalmer of more than one body when in fact an unlicensed person had actually performed the work.