Wife pleads guilty in cemetery fraud case
A Portage County woman has pleaded guilty in Delaware County Common Pleas Court for her role in the husband-wife cemetery fraud case that cost dozens of people thousands of dollars in undelivered services.
Arminda Martin, 47, former co-owner of Fairview Memorial Park in Lewis Center, pleaded guilty Friday to 15 counts of theft beyond the scope of consent.
The charges are lower-level felonies with specifications related to the victims’ ages. Most were elderly people who had purchased headstones, grave markers and services that were never delivered.
“As part of today’s admission of guilt and negotiation, Martin waives her right to appeal and she will have to testify in any future hearings involving Theodore Martin, her husband and co-defendant in the case,” Prosecutor Carol O’Brien said in a written statement.
The Martins have lived in Ravenna, Ohio, and Dover, Pennsylvania. Theodore “Ted” Martin, 54, is in federal prison on tax-fraud charges. He is accused of using the cemetery proceeds to gamble.
Mrs. Martin will be sentenced Dec. 8. Her husband was scheduled for a jury trial on Tuesday. On Friday, he agreed to a change of plea hearing set for Monday.
The Martins also are scheduled for a Dec. 11 jury trial in Portage County, where they are accused of similar crimes at Grandview Memorial Park cemetery in that northeast Ohio county. Courtappointed receivers took over operation and maintenance of both the Fairview and Grandview cemeteries.
Both the Martins have been in prison, where a federal judge in October 2016 sentenced them to one year and one day for tax evasion. The couple also was ordered to pay $304,837 in restitution to the IRS.