An investigation begun in February 2001 ended yesterday when former Brookings funeral director Wesley Eugene Scantlin was sentenced to nine months in Curry County Jail and ordered to repay $31,909.54 to the Oregon Funeral and Cemetery Consumer Protection Fund.

Scantlin was arrested on a warrant in March and arraigned on charges of racketeering, which included 25 offenses.

Maddox said Scantlin pleaded guilty to racketeering, an A felony, which included the predicate offenses of misapplication of entrusted property, tampering with public records, and giving false information to the state regarding the number of funeral plan accounts he had.

Scantlin also pleaded guilty to a separate misdemeanor charge of tampering with public records, for which he was sentenced to 60 months probation and 12 months jail, suspended. He was ordered to pay unitary assessment fees, $107 for the racketeering conviction and $67 for tampering with public records.

All charges stemmed from an investigation begun after Terence Saylor, who purchased the Brookings mortuary business from Scantlin in 1999, filed bankruptcy. People began calling about prepaid funeral expense funds.

The investigation found that Scantlin had failed to place funds for prepaid funeral expenses in trust accounts and filed false records with the Secretary of State. Maddox said Scantlin filed false statements about the number of trust accounts held in order to avoid an audit.

Scantlin was ordered to serve the full nine months in jail, with no possibility of early release, and he will be on probation for 60 months. If he fails to abide by all conditions of probation, including repaying the funds to the state at a rate of $200 per month, he will serve the 12-month suspended sentence for the tampering with public records conviction.

The $10,000 security posted in May by Scantlin's wife, Patti Scantlin, has been taken by the court as partial payment of restitution.

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