Former Binghamton Funeral Director Sentenced to Prison Time

A Vestal woman is headed to New York State Prison for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the Ernest Parsons Funeral Home in Binghamton where she had been employed as a funeral director.

59 year old Helen Eickhoff pleaded guilty in August to grand larceny for embezzling more than $50,000 from the funeral home.

Eickhoff was sentenced in Broome County Court to two to six years in prison.

Judge Martin Smith doled out the sentence after Eickhoff failed to pay back any of the stolen money.  Under the August plea deal, the judge could have considered a lesser sentence had the woman paid most of the $145,778 she was ordered to pay in restitution.

Eickoff had been accused of making false entries in the check register at the funeral home between 2007 and April 2010, using the money for her own purpose and a third party.

She was originally charged with 33 counts of falsifying business records as well as grand larceny.

Funeral home owners say they are still struggling with recovering from the financial loss.