A man working as a funeral director has admitted to committing 35 counts of fraud through deceitful actions following an extensive investigation into human remains discovered at his establishment. Robert Bush, aged 47, entered a guilty plea to the fraud charges but denied other allegations brought against him, including 30 counts related to obstructing proper and respectful burials, and one count of embezzling funds from charity donation boxes.
The charges of fraud by false representation primarily accuse him of misleading grieving families by falsely promising to handle the deceased individuals’ remains in a proper manner consistent with standard funeral director practices, ensuring prompt cremation following funeral services, and providing the correct ashes of the deceased after cremation. Additionally, he confessed to four instances of falsely presenting ashes to a client as those of their unborn child.
Humberside Police initiated an inquiry into the funeral home following concerns about the treatment of the deceased in March of the previous year. Subsequently, a search at his business, Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, led to the retrieval of numerous bodies. The authorities disclosed that they had removed 35 bodies and human ashes from the Hull branch on Hessle Road and had identified 163 families associated with the ashes. After a month of the investigation’s commencement, the police hotline received over 2,000 calls from worried families seeking information about their loved ones’ ashes.
Bush was formally charged in April after an extensive 10-month investigation spanning the firm’s three locations in Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire. Appearing in court attired in a grey suit, Bush acknowledged committing 30 instances of fraud by false representation towards families or acquaintances of the deceased, in addition to one count of deceptive trading and five counts of misleading Legacy customers.
His trial is scheduled for October of the following year at Sheffield Crown Court, where he will contest the 30 charges related to obstructing proper and respectful burials and the single count of theft involving charitable organizations. The trial is anticipated to last for eight weeks.