Family sues after finding out on TikTok funeral home sent mom’s body to wrong country

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A family in New York City is suing a funeral home for allegedly sending their mother’s casket to the wrong country for burial.

Carmen Maldonado, who died after her 96th birthday, was set to be buried in Ecuador next to her husband. Maldonado’s children are suing the Rivera Funeral Home in Corona, New York, after claiming it mistakenly sent their mother’s body to Guatemala, according to court documents. 

“The family was absolutely devastated and in shock,” the family’s attorney, Phil Rizzuto told Fox News Digital.

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  Carmen Maldonado wanted to be buried next to her husband in Ecuador. The funeral home sent her body to Guatemala instead. (Philip Rizzuto – Attorney for Carmen Maldonado’s family)

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  Carmen Maldonado (Philip Rizzuto – Attorney for Carmen Maldonado’s family)

Carmen Maldonado’s family is suing Rivera Funeral Home for mistakenly sending their mother’s body to the wrong country. (Google Street View)

The family found out about the error after they saw a video posted on TikTok, showing a family in Guatemala shocked to find a woman’s body in the casket at the funeral for their son. The woman’s body was Carmen Maldonado.

Both bodies had been prepared by Rivera Funeral Home. 

“The funeral home led them to believe their mother’s body was still in the building in Queens, and they were making excuses as to why there was a delay in transporting her to Ecuador. Even though the TikTok indicated the woman in Guatemala was Carmen Maldonado, it was hard to believe because they were given different information from the funeral home,” Rizzuto said, adding, “The funeral home originally told the daughter Rosa that, no, we have your mother here. And they denied it. But then when they showed up the next day, and they showed them the video, the funeral home admitted that they made a mistake.”

Maldonado’s son had to fly to Guatemala to bring her back to Ecuador, where she had wanted to be in the first place.  

They were able to lay her to rest in Ecuador. 

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Carmen Maldonado’s family. (Philip Rizzuto – Attorney for Carmen Maldonado’s family)

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“They minimized it, and they told them it was no big deal. You know, it was just a mistake,” Rizzuto said. “They originally denied it and then they kind of did not do much to help correct the situation.” 

Carmen Maldonado’s family is suing the home as well as the company that owns it. 

“A mistake is one thing, but to then try to cover it up is … is, you know, a whole other level of misconduct,” Rizzuto said, “And the reality is, if the family didn’t find out, the funeral home never would have told them.”

The funeral home did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Mollie Markowitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Email tips to mollie.markowitz@fox.com. She joined Fox in 2019 and made her way from producing live news coverage to true-crime documentaries at Fox Nation. She has interviewed Ted Bundy survivors, the children of notorious serial killers, survivor Lisa McVey, members of law enforcement and families impacted by traumatic crime.Currently, she covers national crime stories for Fox News Digital. You can follow Mollie on LinkedIn.