Historic, sometimes troubled, Atlanta cemetery files for bankruptcy

Atlanta’s historic Greenwood Cemetery declared bankruptcy in U.S. District Court on Election Day.

According to the federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, a meeting of the cemetery’s creditors regarding its debts will be held on Dec. 3 at 4 p.m.

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The court records show that Greenwood has multiple creditors, and is classified as having between one and 49 people it owes, according to the filing.

It owes the most to the Georgia Sec. of State’s Office, $50,000, and Piedmont Precast, $123,618.89, both of which were listed in the 20 largest unsecured claims section of the bankruptcy record.

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The bankruptcy filing comes months after Channel 2 investigative reporter Mark Winne reported on the cemetery being accused of misplacing bodies and being fined by the State of Georgia.

As Winne reported, between 17 and 20 people had been buried in the wrong graves at Greenwood since 2018.

An investigation by state officials started after the cemetery was said to have failed to meet terms of a consent order reached earlier in 2026.

Further examination of the cemetery discovered concerns beyond just maintenance issues.

Channel 2 Action News has reported on several allegations over the years where families accused Greenwood Cemetery of misplacing their loved ones’ remains, and the investigations that followed.

The bankruptcy filing names the U.S. Postal Service, AT&T, the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, the Georgia Sec. of State’s Office, Home Depot and several other businesses as creditors that the cemetery owes a collective total of $175,618 and some change to its biggest debts.

Additional creditors named include individuals, religious organizations and others, though the amounts owed were not immediately available.

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