A Kansas man who admitted running an illegal autopsy scheme has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for wire fraud.
Shawn Parcells, 42, who lived in Topeka and Leawood, was sentenced Monday in federal court to one count of wire fraud, the US Attorney's office said. He pleaded guilty in May. As part of the plea deal, nine other fraud counts were dropped.
Parcells, a self-taught pathology assistant with no formal education, as owner of National Autopsy Services persuaded a client to pay US$5000 ($8475) for an autopsy, according to court records. The client received an emailed autopsy report that appeared to be authored by Parcells. No pathologist was involved in the examination or report, which is illegal.
Parcells gained national attention in 2014 when he assisted a privately hired pathologist in an autopsy of Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old from Ferguson, Missouri, who was fatally shot by a white police officer. The autopsy was commissioned by Brown's family and no allegations of wrongdoing were raised in relation to it. But Parcells' frequent media appearances led to scrutiny, including a CNN story revealing he had no specific certification or training.
Between 2016 and 2019, Parcells made more than US$1.1 million in Kansas from more than 350 clients for autopsies, most of which he did not perform, according to court records.
