No hearing date has been scheduled, said Cheryl Hawkinson, assistant attorney general handling the case. She declined to comment.
Malik Hubbard, executive director of the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, said his agency is taking Qualls to court because they want to ensure that he obeys the law.
“What the board is trying to accomplish in their mission is (to ensure) that all funeral homes in Ohio are compliant with the law,” he said.
According to court documents, Qualls met with 11 families as a funeral director from January to June 2010. He met with five other families to make funeral pre-arrangements. The board is still investigating instances of meeting families after June 2010.
Hubbard said that because Qualls is not licensed, the board has no authority over him. And that’s why a court hearing is necessary. Qualls, once a funeral director for Porter-Qualls Funeral Homes at 823 S. Yellow Springs St., lost his license in 2007 when he was charged with stealing more than $88,000 from the business over a two-year period. Qualls continued to work at the funeral home until 2010 when he started working for D.B. Washington Funeral Homes, owned by his wife, Tammy Qualls.
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