TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas man accused of performing illegal autopsies duped at least 82 consumers, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
The state now has control of more than 1,600 biological samples collected by Shawn Parcells of Leawood, Kansas, Schmidt’s office said Thursday in a news release. It is working to identify family members with legal claims.
The attorney general’s office said a judge approved its request earlier this week to amend its civil lawsuit against Parcells and his companies to increase the number of allegedly affected consumers from the three listed when the lawsuit was filed last year.
His office is seeking restitution for the consumers under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.
Parcells, a self-taught pathology assistant with no formal education, was accused last year of performing illegal autopsies or billing for autopsies that were never performed. He is charged with three felony counts of theft and three misdemeanor counts of criminal desecration in Wabaunsee County District Court.
Earlier this year, Parcells was ordered by a Shawnee County Court to stop offering any services related to the coronavirus pandemic. Parcells was offering to perform swabs for COVID-19 testing and to examine people who died to see if they tested positive.
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