Whitt pleads guilty to multiple charges, receives sentence, behind bars

By Debra Ferrell

Caswell Messenger Editor

Jeremiah Randall "J.R" Whitt, former owner of Harrelson Funeral Services in Yanceyville, has pleaded guilty to numerous charges in Caswell County and will serve a minimum of three years in the North Carolina prison system. Upon his release, he will be on supervised probation for five years and owes $51,011.86 restitution.

The charges have been continued in the court system for several years. They include:

*Insurance fraud, 11/18/19

*Obtain property false pretense, 11/18/19

*Fraudulent notary acknowledgement, 11/18/19

*Insurance fraud, 11/18/19

*Embezzle preneed funeral funds, 9/18/19

*Obtain property false pretense, 10/12/20

*Obtain property false pretense, 4/12/20

*Misrep to obtain benefit amount, 4/12/20

*Obtain property false pretense, 11/06/20

*Disturb human remains, 11/25/20

*Obtain property false pretense, 11/30/20

*Obtain property false pretense, 2/5/20

*Obtain property false pretense, 11/30/20

*Disturb human remains, 11/25/20

Whitt's legal battle began two years ago when he was being sought by Caswell County Sheriff's Office after two corpses were found on property belonging to his family in Semora. A search ensued after it was initially reported that a "faint odor" could be detected.

Sheriff Tony Durden told The Caswell Messenger at that time that his office conducted a search warrant on Harrelson Funeral Services. Certain materials relevant to a criminal investigation were removed. During a meeting in Providence, Durden said if anyone was concerned about how a deceased loved one's remains may have been treated by the Harrelson Funeral Home in Yanceyville they could call his department and be directed to the agencies that could further assist them.

The NC Department of Insurance also conducted a search to gather evidence in a criminal investigation of their own.

During a conversation with Stephen Davis, Executive Director of NC Board of Funeral Services, he confirmed that Harrelson Funeral Services located in Yanceyville had not renewed its license as of December 31, 2020. Likewise, President Jeremiah Randal Whitt had not renewed his license either.

In 2020, The Caswell Messenger ran the following press release from the insurance commissioner.

North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has announced that Jeremiah Randall Whitt, 39, of 1316 N.C. Highway 57 North, Milton, was charged with insurance fraud, a felony.

Special Agents with the Department of Insurance's Criminal Investigations Division accuse Whitt of trying to obtain payment for funeral services from ABM Funding Inc. and Standard Life Insurance Co. by claiming to have witnessed the signature of a woman who had been dead for nearly a year on an insurance document.

The offense occurred on Nov. 18, 2019.

These are just a few examples of the charges Whitt has pleaded guilty to.

He was born and raised in Caswell County, and began working in the funeral industry at the age of 16. After 20 years of service, and becoming a fully licensed Funeral Director in North Carolina and Virginia, Whitt purchased Harrelson Funeral Services in April of 2017.