‘So this is bigger than we thought it was’: Connection uncovered in funeral scam. Thursday at 6 p.m.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - There’s a good chance you’ve seen them: people holding signs on intersections, asking for money, displaying the face of a child.

The signs feature the word “FUNERAL,” asking for donations to pay for the child’s burial.

A WSMV4 Investigation in February 2023 exposed how we found people in different parts of the city, all using pictures of different children and running from our cameras when we started asking questions.

Now, they’re back, and when WSMV4 chief investigative reporter Jeremy Finley once again approached with his iPhone camera recording to ask questions, one man repeatedly grabbed the phone.

Unidentified man reaches up to grab the phone of WSMV4 chief investigative reporter Jeremy... — Unidentified man reaches up to grab the phone of WSMV4 chief investigative reporter Jeremy Finley when asked questions about signs carried by people asking for money for funeral for child. The man and the others then got into a van and drove away.(WSMV)

We’ve been investigating if there are connections between these people and reported other funeral-related scams popping up around the country. So we started analyzing videos and made a startling discovery. You’ll see the video when WSVM4 Investigates airs on Thursday at 6 p.m.