HARRISBURG, PA – Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has filed a motion in court to prevent 1843 LLC, Gregory J. Stefan Sr., Gregory J. Stefan Jr., and Gerard Stefan from doing business related to headstones and memorials until their pending case is resolved.
According to Shapiro, Stefan Sr. was initially sued by the Office in 2015 as the sole operator of Lifestone by Stefan, LLC and Stefan Memorials, Inc. Stefan Sr. and his sons later moved their family business to a new company, 1843 LLC. In 2021, the Office filed suit again, this time against Stefan Sr. and his two sons.
“Gregory Stefan, Sr., and his family may have formed a new company, but they’re still taking advantage of consumers in their time of grief,” said AG Shapiro. “Last year my office filed suit and asked the court to shut the Stefan father/son business down for good. As litigation continues, this latest filing seeks to prevent the defendants from continuing to do predatory business as usual. I’m continuing to urge anyone who has been harmed by 1843, LLC, or any of its aliases to file a complaint with my office.”
The underlying lawsuit alleges that the defendants charged consumers for headstones that were never delivered or were delivered late, denied consumers full refunds when requested, and solicited consumers in misleading and deceptive ways.
The complaint also asserts that the defendants were known to call Pennsylvanians who had recently lost loved ones and claimed that they were the preferred vendor for or are affiliated with a cemetery when that was not the case.
“Pennsylvanians should stay on alert for other business aliases used by the Defendants, including Colonial Memorials, Stefan Memorial Group, The Memorial Company, Gallagher Memorials, Alessi Memorials, 1843 Memorials/Cartledge, and 1843 New Britain/Quakertown Memorials,” the Attorney General’s Office warned.