Former Scott County funeral home director sentenced for fraud

$90,000 went missing from funeral planning accounts established at Duffield Funeral Home from 2000 to 2006.

By WES BUNCH
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GATE CITY "? A former Scott County funeral home director will spend almost three years in jail and at least a decade on probation for defrauding 17 individuals who gave him advance payment for funeral services.
As part of a plea agreement with Commonwealth's Attorney Marcus McClung, Anthony Carson Robbins was sentenced Friday in Scott County Circuit Court to 34 months in jail and 10 years of probation for 17 misdemeanor counts.
Judge John Kilgore also handed Robbins a 10-year prison term for 25 felony convictions ranging from forgery to obtaining money through false pretenses.
That sentence was suspended pending payment of $19,832 in restitution to four remaining victims. Robbins must remain on probation until those payments are finished.
"Most of the victims want their money, and most of law enforcement wants him in jail,"? said Bill Whitt, a special agent with the Virginia State Police who headed up the investigation. "We got a happy medium here."?
In order to make those payments, Robbins will be eligible for work release. He was denied recommendation for house arrest and must report to the Duffield Regional Jail next Friday to begin his sentence.
Robbins
was convicted in August on 42 counts after entering an Alford plea in which he maintained his innocence but admitted there was enough evidence to find him guilty.
The charges stemmed from $90,000 that went missing from funeral planning accounts established at Duffield Funeral Home from 2000 to 2006.
Robbins told his victims that their funeral prepayments would be deposited in a trust account but instead put them into his own private account, McClung said.
The VSP began investigating the matter in 2007 after Robbins closed the funeral home and left town without notifying his customers about their assets.
Victims of his crimes who were at Friday's hearing said they had mixed feelings when it came to the sentence he received.
"It was the best we could do,"? said Joe Joyner of Mount Carmel. "If he got what he deserved, we wouldn't have got anything. This is just the best way for us to be able to get our refund back."?
Even though he didn't admit to guilt, Robbins offered an apology to victims in the courtroom.
"I would like to apologize to the people here,"? Robbins said. "I am sorry. There was no intent to ever take money that wasn't mine."?
Three of Robbins' felony charges, for which he was also sentenced, were unrelated and came as a result of his 2004 run for Scott County treasurer.
Robbins, who had been convicted of a felony in 1990 for fraud, was found guilty of filing a false application, making a false statement, and giving false information after he neglected to disclose that information on his application. Robbins claimed that he was unaware of the felony.
McClung said Robbins changed his name, Social Security number and date of birth following his 1990 conviction so he could hide it.