A Maine funeral home director and owner accused of stealing from clients’ funeral trusts made his first court appearance Thursday morning.
Harold “Chip” Lamson Jr. is charged with four felony counts of theft related to his job running Lamson Funeral Home in Lincoln. The charges were read during his first appearance in Penobscot County Superior Court on Monday morning.
Lamson did not enter a plea, which is standard procedure in felony cases. The Class C charges will be presented to a grand jury that will decide whether or not to indict him.
The alleged thefts happened Dec. 22, 2022, Aug. 7, 2023, Nov. 14, 2023, and Feb. 1, 2024.
He was scheduled for a court appearance Tuesday in Lincoln, but failed to show up because of a miscommunication between him and a previous lawyer, Lamson’s attorney Christopher Largay said.
A warrant was issued for Lamson but it was resolved before Thursday’s court appearance. Lamson has a $1,000 bail for all four cases, which he has posted.
Lincoln police received more than 50 complaints against Lamson, alleging theft or misuse of money from funeral trusts established through his business, police said previously.
Lamson was arrested May 20, shortly after the Maine Board of Funeral Services revoked his funeral practitioner license for five years. In a consent agreement, he admitted “without dispute” to more than 60 violations of the board’s statutes, rules and code of ethics dating back to 2022.
The board suspended Lamson’s license as a funeral home director in June after he allegedly violated the consent agreement. In part, he allegedly was late and incomplete in reporting to the board and failed to return documents that were removed from the funeral home, preventing a comprehensive audit.
Lamson was first licensed in 1995. He is prohibited from seeking any funeral home-related licenses for the next three years, at which time he can apply to have his license reinstated.
His next court date is Nov. 6 at 8:30 a.m..
