THIRTY-SEVEN CHARGES: Terre Haute Prosecutor Says Gary Greiner Took More Than $552,000 In Prepaid Funeral Money, and Calls It a First Wave

Gary Greiner, the longtime Terre Haute funeral director whose business closed in January, was charged on Aug. 20 with 37 counts. Vigo County Prosecutor Terry Modesitt filed them and calls them a first wave, with more charges coming. The counts are one count of corrupt business influence, a Level 5 felony, 35 Level 6 felony counts of theft or fraud, and one misdemeanor theft count. WTHI-TV breaks the 35 down as 20 counts of theft and 15 counts of fraud. A Level 6 felony is the lowest felony tier in Indiana.

The Tribune-Star, citing Vigo County Jail records, reports Greiner was booked just before 12:45 p.m. Thursday and released about 2:40 p.m. after posting a $50,000 cash bond. WTHI-TV attributes an arrest Wednesday morning to Modesitt. The booking record is Thursday's, and the two outlets leave the arrest day itself in conflict.

The probable cause affidavit, the document investigators file to justify charges, carries the core allegation. MyWabashValley reports the affidavit says about 142 prepaid funeral contracts were processed by Greiner and "never deposited" with a trust fund or insurance company. Indiana law requires that placement within 30 days. Pre-need contracts let families pay years ahead to lock in prices. The deposit requirement exists so the money survives the funeral home that collected it.

The dollar figures come from two documents counting two things. Modesitt said Greiner took more than $552,000 in pre-need payments, per WTHI-TV. The Indiana Attorney General's Office, in a separate licensing complaint, claims at least 147 clients were defrauded of more than $550,000. The affidavit counts contracts at 142. The AG counts clients at 147. Modesitt called the Aug. 20 filing the first wave and said the investigation continues, with more charges coming.

The criminal case runs on a parallel track with licensing. The Indiana Funeral and Cemetery Board suspended the licenses of Greiner and his funeral home in April, after a state investigation found prepaid contracts were not being placed in trust. WTHI-TV reports the board revoked his funeral director license a week before the arrest, acting on an Attorney General complaint carrying 18 counts of administrative incompetence.

The timeline starts in January. The funeral home closed and was listed for sale after Greiner's medical condition came to light on Jan. 24, and the Vigo County Coroner's Office took four bodies from the facility, per WTHI-TV reporting summarized by the trade outlet Connecting Directors. On April 15, Terre Haute police executed seven search warrants at four Greiner-owned properties: the funeral home, Mount Pleasant Cemetery, and two buildings on Walnut Street. WTHI-TV reports 59 sets of cremated remains seized at the funeral home. MyWabashValley's April report said more than 100 and its August report said more than 150. The counts conflict across outlets, and the court record will settle them.

Greiner's attorney, Michael Ellis, has made the defense position public. He says Greiner has a terminal illness, has offered to sell the funeral home and turn all sale proceeds over to the Attorney General for distribution to affected families, and has already satisfied many of the prepaid arrangements. In April, a sheriff's sale of the funeral home was canceled. Ellis tied the cancellation to a lease with Fitzpatrick Funeral Home, whose owner says families with Greiner prepaid files can move them, and the consumer decides where they go.

The Indiana Funeral Directors Association, through a second-generation director who once sat on the regulatory board, has described the case as beyond anything the board has handled. What comes next is enumeration. The Vigo County docket, once the case number posts publicly, will attach a statute and a factual basis to each of the 37 counts. Terre Haute police are asking anyone with a prepaid file at Greiner to file a report.

*Developing: the court cause number and division were not public at publication. We will update as case details emerge.*

*Sources: WTHI-TV, Aug. 20, 2026; MyWabashValley (WTWO/WAWV), Aug. 20, 2026 and April 16, 2026; Terre Haute Tribune-Star via Yahoo News syndication, Aug. 20, 2026; Connecting Directors, May 5, 2026, summarizing WTHI-TV January 2026 coverage; Vigo County Jail records as reported by the Tribune-Star.*