Staff report

ALACHUA, Fla. – Bernard S. Phillip, Jr., 40, has been charged with acting as a licensed funeral director without a license, a third-degree felony.

On May 30, 2024, a woman went to the Alachua Police Department and said she had gone to Phillip and Sons (15303 NW 140th Street) and had met with Phillip to make funeral arrangements for her deceased son, but after a frustrating experience, she learned that Phillip was not a licensed funeral director.

The investigating officer reported that a license check showed that Phillips was not licensed in the state of Florida as a funeral director.

The officer reported that statements from the woman and from the funeral home’s licensed funeral director confirmed that Phillip “did in fact act as a Licensed Funeral Director by making final arrangements with [the woman] without a licensed Funeral Director present, among numerous administrative violations.”

Phillip was arrested by the Levy County Sheriff’s Office on September 10 and posted $2,500 bail. A formal charge of acting as a funeral director without a license between April 22, 2024, and May 30, 2024 was filed on November 1.

Phillip is listed in Sunbiz as President of Phillip and Sons, The Funeral Directors, Inc., and the company’s website shows locations in Melrose and Alachua. The funeral home’s website lists Phillip as a licensed embalmer, and Florida’s Department of Financial Services confirms that he has been a licensed embalmer since February 2022 but is not a licensed funeral director.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.