A Kansas man has been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection to an operation in which he charged fees to perform illegal autopsies.
42-year-old Shawn Lynn Parcells used his business National Autopsy Services LLC, to charge fees to over 350 clients and was able to gain $1,166,00, court documents detailed.
Parcells pleaded guilty to the case in May, which detailed how he used fake credentials to convince clients that he was qualified toconduct the autopsies, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
In one incident, Parcells received $5,000 for he emailed a copy of a final report that appeared as if he had written it, but no pathologist took part in the exam, the DOJ said.
US Attorney Duston Slinkard said, "It's troubling whenever criminals deceptively present themselves as professionals to commit fraud on unwitting victims, but the fact that Parcells' schemes were predicated upon exploiting the grief and bereavement of others makes his act a particularly predatory crime."
