Funeral home shipped NY mom's body to wrong country: lawsuit

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (PIX11) – A New York family is suing a funeral home company after they mistakenly shipped their mother’s body to the wrong country and then found out about the error on TikTok, according to the complaint. 

The children of Carmen Maldonado, represented by Rizzuto Law Firm, filed the lawsuit against RG Ortiz Inc. in the New York State Supreme Court in Queens on Wednesday.

“It is unconscionable how such egregious actions can take place. No amount of money is enough to hold the Rivera Funeral Home & RG Ortiz accountable for their mistake,” said attorney Phil Rizzuto. “They did not even notify the family of what happened. I cannot begin to imagine what the family was feeling when they saw this on TikTok.” 

After their mother passed away, the family retained Rivera Funeral Home to send their mother's remains to Ecuador. Rivera Funeral Home is believed to be owned by RG Ortiz.

Instead, their mother was sent to Guatemala, according to the complaint.

"Carmen Maldonado was not properly prepared for transport and was carelessly sent to the wrong country while in the care and custody of the defendant, RG ORTIZ FUNERAL HOME, INC," read court documents obtained by PIX11 News.

After seeing a video on TikTok, the family called the funeral home, which admitted to the mistake, according to the lawsuit.

One of the woman's children flew to Guatemala to confirm the body was his mother's. The family is seeking unspecified damages.

A woman who identified herself as the manager of RG Ortiz Funeral Home, Inc. told PIX11 News the two funeral homes have ties and are operated by RG Ortiz but declined to comment on the lawsuit.

It remains unclear how the family discovered the TikTok video.