Former coroner Andrew Moore and his wife Amanda faced a preliminary hearing on Oct. 18 for Class C felony charges of receiving stolen property.
The couple allegedly defrauded MVP Investment Group, LLC, of $36,000-$77,000 while operating the former Moore Funeral Home, which MVP owned.
The charges are not related to Moore’s term as Butler County coroner, although he was serving in office for at least part of the time the crimes are alleged to have happened.
Moore was elected in 2016, serving one term before losing the 2020 election to Jim Akers.
__Evidence taken ‘under advisement’__
Assistant Attorney General George Lankford and Assistant Attorney General Melissa Pierce claimed the Moores paid off credit cards and purchased goods with the funeral home’s bank account, and used the business’s AT&T account to give family members phone plans and new devices, traveled extensively in the company car and made at least one payment on behalf of an LLC owned solely by Andrew Moore.
The case was presented during a preliminary hearing Wednesday before Associate Judge John Shock of the 36th Judicial Circuit. The case is next expected in court Dec. 13, following a 30-day period to submit briefs to the court.
Shock is taking the evidence presented this week under advisement.
__Partners accuse Moores of ‘irregular bills’__
Andrew Moore was a member of MVP Investment Group alongside Dr. Clint Vanlandingham and Dr. Donald Piland.
Vanlandingham was the prosecution’s first witness. He got connected to Andrew Moore through his late father, Charlie, and the two discussed opening a funeral home in Poplar Bluff. They brought on Piland to secure loans for construction, according to testimony.
Each member owned a third of the group’s interest, but Andrew Moore was also given responsibility for the daily operations of Moore Funeral Home once it was completed. His contract stated he need not consult the other partners on purchases under $55,000.
“So we were all invested from day one, but he managed it,” Vanlandingham said.
Andrew Moore requested MVP hire his wife to the staff as well, which they did. No other family members were hired, the partner testified.
Eventually, lack of profits and “irregular bills” led Vanlandingham and Piland to investigate the Moores management.
They found, for example, “We had several family members of the Moores that were on the (AT&T) bill that shouldn’t have been on the bill. We paid for devices, music, a whole host of things,” Vanlandingham said.
These included Apple watches, he alleged.
__Forensic audit undertaken__
Vanlandingham and Piland hired Anders CPA + Advisors of St. Louis to perform a forensic audit. They handed the results of that audit over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol and fired the Moores in 2019.
Vanlandingham reported the funeral home became profitable after their termination.
Moore and his wife, Amanda Moore, were arrested and released on bond in 2021.
Defense attorneys Devin Kirby and Daniel Moore (of no relation to the defendants) stated that as manager, Andrew Moore determined business-related expenses as well as compensation to family members who may have helped maintain Moore Funeral Home. Daniel Moore stated Moore’s father, Charlie Moore, and Amanda Moore performed upkeep, and Vanlandingham could not prove other family members never performed services for the funeral home too, though none were ever hired.
“Compensation is anything you get as benefit for working, it doesn’t have to be salary,” Danny Moore asserted.
The next witness was Kevin Summers, a partner at Anders CPA + Advisors and director of its forensic, valuation and litigation practice.
Summers went through tax returns, bank statements and accounting records, and said he found all to be reliable.
He testified he identified questionable purchases by interviewing employees, including Monica Woolem, a full-time office manager apprenticing under Andrew Moore.
Anders CPA’s role was investigative only, he emphasized, and it was up to the Missouri State Highway Patrol to decide if criminal activity occurred.
“In terms of our standards, we are not allowed to determine whether fraud has occurred,” he said.
__Concert tickets, vacation expenses, sex toy among questioned purchases__
Summers found the AT&T bills Vanlandingham mentioned were connected to the Moores’ address on Terrace Trail in Poplar Bluff, but were paid for by the funeral home’s checking account. The total was $8,173, factoring in over $1,000 reimbursed by one family member.
There were charges in excess of $36,000 from Amazon, Walmart, Menard’s and Hobby Lobby. Summers also identified restaurant bills in excess of $8,000 and a hotel charge from Chattanooga, Tennessee, which coincided with a family vacation there.
Jewelry, pet products, a sex toy, Taylor Swift concert tickets, Arkansas Razorbacks merchandise and more retail items were bought with MVP funds, witnesses alleged. Social media posts by the Moores featured several purchases, including photos of Amanda Moore attending a Taylor Swift concert after the tickets were purchased, and the family wearing Razorbacks gear, the court was told.
Summers testified retail spending dropped from $36,000 to around $200 after the couple was terminated.
“Not entirely, but the bottom dropped significantly,” he said.
Fuel use per day also dropped, according to witnesses. They testified fuel costs from September 2014 to January 2019 were $33,152.36; and from January 2019 to approximately August 2019 were $1,597.52. The average of these numbers was $21.23 per day while the Moores were employed and $6.56 per day when they were not.
Vanlandingham and Piland reportedly told Summers overnight business trips were rare. He also found a photo on Amanda Moore’s social media of the family with the company’s Cadillac Escalade with a caption suggesting they were driving it to visit grandparents.
The sum of questionable fuel, restaurant, hotel and retail bills amounted to over $77,000, the court was told. Summers also said he found at least one payment made on behalf of Chandy, LLC, which was organized by Andrew Moore, and a donation to the Girl Scouts, where Amanda Moore was a troop leader.
__Defense argues Moore’s time as coroner could have increased business to the funeral home__
The defense argued the high fuel was due to Andrew Moore’s time as county coroner, which could have increased business to the funeral home and should therefore be written off as a business expense.
“In your investigation, did you see this LLC (MVP Investment Group) had invested heavily to Andrew Moore becoming county coroner?” asked Daniel Moore.
__Defense argues expenses could be legitimate__
Summers has completed 40-50 forensic audits, by his own estimation, but the defense argued his inexperience with funeral homes in particular kept him from identifying what was or was not a business expense. Daniel Moore suggested the pet products could have been purchased for an on-site therapy dog, and jewelry purchases could have been for cremation jewelry.
Danny Moore revisited Andrew Moore’s sole authority over day-to-day purchases. Summers recognized that, but countered, “There’s still a responsibility that goes to the partners and the business.”
Lankford responded by highlighting a clause in the MVP contract stating Andrew Moore’s authority extended only to “ordinary and usual decisions.” He asserted purchases not used for the business were likely not business expenses.
“If someone says something is a business expense but it’s never used for the business, is that a business expense,” he asked Summers.
“In my experience, no,” Summers replied.
__MSHP confirms retail purchases not used at funeral home__
The prosecution’s third witness was Brenda Cone, a 32-year veteran of the Missouri State Highway Patrol with experience investigating fraud cases. She confirmed the $36,000 of retail purchases Summers found, and verified with Woolem that those purchases were not used at the funeral home.
Among the purchases were almost $930 of products from Amazon. These included an Amazon Fire Stick remote, Xbox Live Membership, NHL sportswear, a diabetes management book and shaving cream. Cone subpoenaed the receipts from Amazon and found the names and email addresses of defendants.
“The receipts I received from Amazon had email addresses belonging to the person placing the order, as well as names,” Cone said.
Besides the retailers Summers named, Cone identified questionable transactions at Home Depot, Office Depot and La Boutique. La Boutique accounted for $26,155 of all purchases.
Cone explained she left out fuel purchases “because it was hard to determine what purchases were made for the funeral home vehicles.”
Daniel Moore questioned the veracity of the receipts on the grounds that Cone had no training in those retailers’ records systems.
“She’s not qualified to testify to that (the records’ authenticity),” he stated.
He also raised questions about Cone’s probable cause statement, which said auditors “detected fraud,” which was counter to Summers’ and Cone’s own statements about Anders CPA’s role.
Finally, the defense said Woolem could not speak for purchases made before her time.
The defense offered no evidence during the preliminary hearing.
A case review is scheduled for Dec. 13 according to Case Net. Shock will decide whether there is probable cause, and whether the case proceeds to trial under Judge Michael Pritchett.