A Russellville funeral home director arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of theft by deception may have bilked as many as 30 customers out of their money through pre-paid funeral plans, authorities say.

Timothy D. Hanna, 46, funeral director at Memorial Funeral Home, 505 E. Ninth St., was arrested after a customer voiced concerns to the Kentucky State Police on Sept. 27 that Hanna was missing, according to a KSP release. She was worried because she had recently purchased a pre-paid funeral plan through Hanna.

When Kentucky State Police and the Attorney General’s Office contacted the Funeral Funding Trust of Kentucky, a fund in which money is deposited by funeral homes whose clients have chosen to pre-pay for their funerals, they found Memorial Funeral Home did not have an account there.

Logan-Todd County Commonwealth’s Attorney Charles Orange became involved with the case early last week, he said, and quickly realized this was no small matter.

&#8221Based upon my experience as a prosecutor, I recognized the potential for more than just an isolated incident,“ he said.

Initially, the charges were based upon two separate pre-paid funeral plans, he said, but &#8221we would anticipate additional cases being presented to the grand jury. … We’ve had probably close to 30 (complaints) in our office the last couple days, so I think the word is getting around.“

Some of those customers had been bilked out of thousands, Orange said.

&#8221The least amount we’ve run across is $300,“ he said. &#8221The most we’ve run across is $10,000 to $12,000, and most of the cases fell somewhere in between there.“

While the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office is focused primarily on criminal charges, the Attorney General’s Office is looking into whether restitution can be made to these families, Orange said.

Vicki Glass, a spokeswoman for the attorney general, said she could not comment because the investigation is ongoing.

Hanna was initially lodged in Warren County Regional Jail, but was relocated to the Logan County Detention Center on Tuesday afternoon. He was released Wednesday.

Theft by deception over $300 is a class D felony, Orange said, which is punishable by one to five years in prison.

Anyone who purchased a pre-paid funeral plan through Memorial Funeral Home is asked to contact the attorney general at (502) 696-5389, Orange at 726-4300, or KSP at 782-2010.

– Daily News reporter Hayli Morrison contributed information to this article.