Kansas businessman sentenced to 5 years, 9 months for wire fraud tied to illegal autopsy


A Kansas businessman who admitted guilt to one count of wire fraud related to performing an unlawful autopsy in May was given a five years and nine months jail term on Monday, according to the US Department of Justice.

According to court records, Shawn Lynn Parcells, 42, of Topeka utilized his company, National Autopsy Services LLC, to collect money from more than 350 customers for a total of $1,166,000 over three years between 2016 and 2019.

The defendant “failed to furnish an authentic, full report in numerous situations,” according to a news statement issued on Monday by the Justice Department.

According to the Justice Department, Parcells persuaded a customer in one case in July 2016 that he was competent to do an autopsy based on fake credentials.

The Justice Department claims that the client gave Parcells $5,000 in exchange for an email copy of an autopsy report that included an opinion given with “a certain degree of medical certainty as a Forensic, Neuro, and Infectious Disease Epidemiology Fellow.”

The Justice Department claimed that no pathologists were involved in the examination or report, which seemed to have been written by Parcells despite his apparent lack of the required medical training.

According to the press release, it is disturbing when fraud is carried out on unknowing victims by criminals who pose as experts.

US Attorney Duston Slinkard remarked as much. But what makes Parcells’ actions a particularly predatory crime is that they were founded on taking advantage of other people’s pain and sadness.

According to the press release from the FBI Special Agent in Charge Charles Dayoub, Parcells “willfully deceived folks when they were mourning.”

He went on: “He preyed on those searching for explanations for the loss of a loved one through deceit, pretending to be a pathologist who could provide them.

For his own benefit, Mr. Parcells falsely collected fees from them and made money off of their suffering.”

According to CNN, Parcells rose to fame “overnight” in the media in 2014 after helping with an autopsy ordered by the family of Michael Brown, a Black man who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri while unarmed.

He admitted to doing autopsies sometimes without a doctor present, CNN reported, despite having no official training in pathology.

Parcells was found guilty of three felonies for stealing and three misdemeanors for criminal desecration in Wabaunsee County in November of last year. For these criminal accusations, a verdict has not yet been reached.

A Kansas county court judge issued a prohibition on Parcells operating in the state in August of this year for providing healthcare or body-related services.

He was also required to make reparation payments of over $250,000.


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