A funeral home director and owner suspected of theft and misusing funds had his license revoked for at least three years.
The Board of Funeral Services unanimously voted to revoke the funeral practitioner license of H. Lee Lamson, who goes by Chip, during a meeting Tuesday. He and his wife, Lisa Lamson, own Lamson Funeral Home, which serves the Millinocket, East Millinocket and Medway areas.
Lamson’s license was revoked as part of a consent agreement where he admitted “without dispute” to more than 60 violations in nine cases from 2022 and 2023, Assistant Attorney General John Belisle said.
By signing the consent agreement, Lamson, who was first licensed in 1995, admitted to violations of board statutes, rules and code of ethics, Beisle said.
Those violations included significant delays in providing a headstone and footstone, as well as one family who had to go elsewhere for monument engraving after paying Lamson for the work, board members said during the meeting. Lamson will refund the engraving costs this week, as part of the agreement.
The consent agreement was not read in full during the meeting and was not immediately available. A phone call to the board requesting the consent agreement was not returned.
The revokement of Lamson’s license comes amid an active criminal investigation for theft. Lamson allegedly misused funds from funeral trusts established with the funeral home, the Lincoln Police Department said.
Lamson’s funeral practitioner license was revoked for five years, but he can apply for reinstatement after three years with documented changes. The board has sole discretion on reinstatement.
Lamson will also not apply for any other funeral home-related licenses during the time of the consent agreement.
His license will remain active for up to 120 days to give him time to conclude business with his remaining clients and provide documentation requested by families, Belisle said. Lamson cannot take on new clients during that time.
Lamson will provide weekly written reports to the board so it knows what he is doing and ensure that he is working to return all client property and funds, Belisle said.
Lamson Funeral Home can hire a licensed funeral practitioner to keep the business running. Lamson is in discussions to bring someone into the business, his attorney said. The Millinocket area has an aging community and Lamson provides the only local funeral services, his attorney said.
No public comments were allowed related to Lamson because the issue was resolved with a consent agreement, officials said during the meeting.
Lamson has two other consent agreements from 2021 and 2022. He had a year of probation and a fine of $750 because of a failure to communicate in 2022 with family about installing a gravemarker. In 2021, Lamson failed to return roughly $5,800 from a mortuary trust in a timely fashion. He was issued a warning and had to pay a fine, according to the consent agreement.
