Patrick Vereb is accused of taking over $650,0000 from customers who paid for dog and cat burial and cremation services between 2021 and 2024 in Western Pennsylvania.

Patrick Vereb, 70, of Pittsburgh, is facing charges after prosecutors say he allegedly threw out the bodies of thousands of pets whose owners paid for burial and cremation services and replaced them with ashes of other animals.

Patrick Vereb, owner of Vereb Funeral Home and Eternity Pet Memorial in Pittsburgh, is charged with theft by deception, receiving stolen property, and deceptive business practices, according to an April 28 news release from the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office.