A man working as a funeral director has admitted to 35 charges of fraud by making false claims following an extensive investigation involving human remains discovered at his facility.
Robert Bush, aged 47, pleaded guilty to the fraud charges but denied other allegations he was confronted with. Among the charges were 30 counts related to obstructing proper and respectful burials, and one accusation of embezzling funds from charity donation boxes.
The majority of the fraud charges revolved around deceptive statements made to grieving families, promising to handle the deceased individuals’ remains appropriately in line with standard funeral director practices. Additionally, he assured families that cremation would occur promptly after the funeral service and that the ashes given to them belonged to the deceased individual post-cremation.
Specifically, Bush confessed to four instances where he falsely claimed ashes were from unborn fetuses to a customer.
Humberside Police initiated an inquiry into Bush’s funeral home following reports of concerns surrounding the care of the deceased in March of the previous year. Law enforcement officers conducted a search at his establishment, Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, where multiple bodies were confiscated.
The police force disclosed that they retrieved 35 bodies and human ashes from the Hessle Road branch in Hull and identified 163 families associated with the ashes. Within a month of commencing the investigation, Humberside Police received over 2,000 calls from families anxious about the status of their loved ones’ ashes.
Bush was formally charged in April after an elaborate 10-month investigation into his three business locations in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire. Appearing at Hull Crown Court in a grey suit, Bush admitted to 30 counts of fraud by false representation to families or acquaintances of deceased individuals, along with one count of fraudulent trading and five counts of deceiving Legacy customers.
He is set to face a trial at Sheffield Crown Court in October of the following year after pleading not guilty to 30 charges related to obstructing proper and respectful burials and one count of theft involving multiple charities. The trial is anticipated to span eight weeks.