KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Leawood man has been barred from conducting any business associated with the human body in Kansas for “more than a year” after failing to follow state requirements for autopsies and offering in-home COVID-19 testing.
Shawn Parcells, 37, faces a civil lawsuit involving three customers and 14 alleged violations of the Kansas False Claims Act and Kansas Consumer Protection Act, Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office announced Tuesday.
Parcells performed autopsies through a contract with Wabaunsee County without a licensed pathologist present and in violation of Kansas law, according to a court filing.
He also was found in contempt of court for the third time during these proceedings for violating an existing restraining order.
A court order Tuesday expanded a temporary restraining order against Parcells and his affiliated companies to include any services or solicitations related to COVID-19 after Schmidt’s office learning Parcells formed new businesses — building websites and promoting them on social media — “that offered consulting services for coronavirus and COVID-19.”
“Parcells was offering to enter homes and businesses, perform swabs for purported coronavirus testing and examine deceased persons to determine if they were positive for COVID-19,” Schmidt’s office said in a release. “Parcells was quoted in media reports stating he had been contacted by two families in New York for COVID-19 testing on deceased family (members).”
Parcells also faces pending criminal charges filed by Schmidt’s office in Wabaunsee County District Court.
Parcells may no longer perform “autopsies, forensic pathology and tissue recovery” in Kansas during the restraining order.
He also cannot offer “any services in connection with the human body” — a list of services that includes but is not limited to “healing arts, epidemiology, infectious disease, coronavirus, COVID-19 and any treatment, protocol, diagnosis, medication, opinion or other recommendation.”
Additionally, he is prohibited from leaving the state or the Kansas City metro area without court approval and cannot advertise, accept payment or contract for, or perform any business or business transaction related to those fields.
