Indicted funeral home owner ordered to shut down in Dumfries

DUMFRIES, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - A funeral home owner accused of scamming people in the D.C. area has been told he must shut down his business in Virginia.

The mayor for the Town of Dumfries says Shaun Reid never had a permit to store and embalm bodies at his funeral home. He was only supposed to do counseling and sell coffins and urns.

Reid is in bigger trouble in Maryland after he was indicted in Prince George's County. Investigators say he intentionally gave two families the wrong cremated remains and forged death certificates.

Reid had been working for years in D.C. and Maryland even though he never had a proper license. More recently, he set up shop in Virginia.

FOX 5 has talked to people across the region who say Reid has taken advantage of them off. One family even believes Reid failed to embalm their loved one.

Shinorfae Bailey and her sister developed concerns about Reid after how he handle the funeral of their brother. Bailey says her brother's body was bloated, several shades darker and his face appeared to be sweating.

"The smell was so overwhelming that the family couldn't sit in the front row," she said.

Bailey also says she saw Reid spraying something on his body, claiming to be "freshening it up."

"My gut feeling tells me that my brother was not embalmed," Bailey said. "[Reid] was using this chemical to camouflage the smell of rotting flesh."

The mayor of Dumfries says Reid was told on Wednesday that he must take down the sign for his funeral business.