SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE (3/17): Elena Moreno, owner of Angelic Monuments, has since been released from jail on a $5,000 bond, according to court records.
Moreno was released on Sunday.
The owner of a San Antonio funeral headstone business, Angelic Monuments, has now been arrested.
San Antonio police said an arrest warrant was executed Saturday for Angelic Monuments owner Elena Moreno.
In previous reporting on KSAT, Moreno was accused of not providing headstones that her customers alleged they paid for in full.
“There was a story that media did on this, and with that story multiple victims came out,” said SAPD Public Information Officer Ricardo Guzman.
Two KSAT stories aired within the last month, showing a total of 12 families seem to have paid Moreno for the headstones that they never received.
We added up the total amount on the receipts and paperwork for those 12 families, and found it to be around $40,000.
Guzman said after the KSAT stories aired, multiple families reported the same thing to the police about their orders from Angelic Monuments.
However, Saturday’s arrest was just focused on one of those reports.
The warrant that led to Moreno’s arrest was connected to one family who paid Angelic Monuments $8,508.09 for a headstone, San Antonio police said.
The family told police they wrote the check and paid in full when they ordered the stone.
The arrest affidavit shows Moreno gave the family a 9 to 12 month delay because of COVID.
In August 2023 the family received a letter from the Veterans Affairs regarding a selection made for the headstone.
They attempted to reach Moreno from October 12, 2023 until February 12, 2024 but said Moreno would barely respond.
Then they got a notification from First Memorial Park Funeral Home advising them that other families who purchased headstones from Moreno were also having issues getting their headstones.
KSAT’s Courtney Friedman spoke to Moreno twice over the phone; once in October, 2023 and another in November, 2023. After that she stopped returning calls.
We then tried to get a hold of Moreno to get her side of the story by emailing, messaging on social media, and stopping by listed business and home addresses. She did not respond.
While she did tell families her original business location on Commercial Avenue closed down several years ago, Moreno told one of the families just a few weeks ago that she recently started working out of a new location on Commercial Avenue.
However, since then, she has not answered calls or knocks on the door from families or KSAT.
Moreno has been formally charged with theft between $2,500 and $30,000, which is considered a state jail felony.
“It’s frustrating for these families. Not being able to receive that closure from those headstones is frustrating, heartbreaking. But we’re bringing justice for those families,” Guzman said.
As Moreno was put into a San Antonio police vehicle, reporters asked her if she stole the money from these families.
“I did not,” Moreno said.
SAPD said their property crimes detectives are actively investigating the other reports, which will be investigated concurrently with the charge filed Saturday.
They are asking anyone else who believes they were a victim, to contact SAPD Property Crimes detectives at the non-emergency number (210) 207-7273.
KSAT will continue updates on any further charges or changes in this case.
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