TIFTON, Ga. (WALB) — According to District Attorney Patrick Warren about 70% of victims in the Tifton monument case have been paid back or had their contracts completed.

Warren said defendant Emmett Fred Eaton is working to make right the contracts he had not completed.

Three employees of a Tifton monument company previously faced over 100 felony and misdemeanor charges. They were accused of taking thousands of dollars from families who paid for headstones but never received them.

Background on the case

Emmett Cameron Eaton and Emmett Fred Eaton, a son and his father, were arrested in connection with the case. Investigators said they are the owners of Tifton Monument and Memorials and Eaton Memorials LLC. Amanda Aubrey, the company secretary, was also arrested.

Cameron faced 46 felony theft by conversion charges and 21 misdemeanor theft by conversion charges. His father faced 45 felony theft by conversion charges and 22 misdemeanor theft by conversion charges. Aubrey faced 26 felony theft by conversion charges and 22 misdemeanor theft by conversion charges.

More than 60 families originally filed complaints with the Tifton Magistrate Court saying they went years without seeing their loved ones’ paid-for headstones. That prompted the Tift County Sheriff’s Office to open an investigation against the two Tifton memorial companies.

In Georgia, theft by conversion misdemeanor convictions can result in 12 months in jail while a felony conviction can result in up to 10 years in prison.

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