A funeral director today admitted 35 counts of fraud spanning more than ten years after a major investigation into human remains found at his premises.
Robert Bush, 47, appeared at Hull Crown Court to enter pleas following the probe which was launched when bodies were found at one of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors’ sites in Hull.
However he denied 30 counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial and will stand trial in relation to those allegations next year.
Bush arrived at court dressed in a dark grey three-piece suit and carrying a large black holdall over his shoulder. His face was covered by a black snood while he was wearing a black baseball cap.
Bush was escorted into the court building by uniformed police officers as some of those he has today admitted defrauding shouted comments at him.
Standing in the glass fronted dock, Bush said ‘not guilty’ as the counts of preventing a lawful and decent burial were read out.
But he pleaded guilty to a further 35 counts of fraud by false representation relating to dishonestly failing to arrange cremations.
The former funeral director also pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulent trading between 2012 and 2023 through the marketing of funeral plans where he falsely claimed the funds would be kept by financial institutions.
But he denied a count of theft in relation to money belonging to charities including the Dogs Trust and Help For Heroes between 2017 and 2024.
Gasps could be heard from the packed public gallery as Bush began entering guilty pleas to the fraud charges.
Bush, formerly of Kirk Ella, East Yorkshire, but now of Otley, West Yorkshire, will now stand trial in October next year.
As well as the counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a body relating to 30 different people, Bush is also charged with 33 counts of fraud by false representation, one count of fraudulent trading relating to funeral plans, and one of theft from a range of charities.
Bush denied preventing a lawful and decent burial in relation to 30 people between 2023 and 2024.
The indictment states that in each case Bush without lawful excuse prevented their lawful and decent burials.
They are: Norman Bridger, Muriel Winning, Raymond Dagnall, Colin Wainman, Maureen Graham, Susan Gorbutt, Shirley Wright, Mark Hotham, John Carlill, Joyce Moulton, Terence Buck, David Burton, Audrey Leach, Danny Middleton, Tony Munro, Jessie Stockdale, Peter Moody, Jean Collinson, Alan Gray, Hilda Mary Rhodes, Stephen Perrins, Joan Stark, Brian Johnson, Graham Finn, Terence White, Susan Stone, Herbert James Porter, Peter Brown, Jonathan Butler and Julie Webb.
In relation to the same list of deceased he denied 30 counts of fraud by false representation.
The charge in each of these counts alleges that Bush dishonestly made false representations to the their family or friends that he would:
- properly care for the remains of the deceased in accordance with the normal expected practices of a competent funeral director;
- arrange for the cremation of those remains to take place immediately or soon after the conclusion of the funeral service;
- the ashes presented to the customer were the remains of the deceased person after cremation.
It alleges that he knew this ‘was, or might be, untrue or misleading, and intending thereby to make a gain for himself or cause loss to another’.
There was a heavy police presence outside court as Bush left after his bail was renewed, with family members having to be held back by officers.
Bush also pleaded guilty to four additional counts of fraud by false representation in relation to four unborn babies.
In each count the wording was the same as the other 30 counts, with the mothers’ names given as Jasmine Beverley, Katie Woolston, Stacey Foster and Lucy James-Guest Ness.
Bush also pleaded guilty to a single count of fraudulent trading.
The charge alleges that between May 23, 2012 and March 6, 2024 he was ‘knowingly party to the carrying on of the business of Legacy Funeral Home for a fraudulent purpose, namely by marketing and selling ‘funeral plans’ whereby customers were induced to believe that money paid to him would be forwarded by him to a financial institution who would hold that money so that it could be used to pay for funeral arrangements at some future date, whereas the money was in fact kept by him and used for his own purposes’.
The final count he admitted was of fraud by false representation between August 2017 and March 2024, with the same wording as the other counts but without a named deceased.
Bush denied a final count of theft which alleges that he stole ‘sums of money’ between September 2017 and March 2024 from 12 named charities.
They are: Salvation Army, Macmillan Cancer Support, CHIEF, Dogs Trust, Dove House, Help for Heroes, Maister Lodge, Oakwood Dog Rescue, RNLI, Sailors Children Society, WISHH and Hull Fishing Heritage Charity.
It took just over 20 minutes for all 67 counts to be read out.
Bush was surrounded by at least nine police officers as he was escorted away from court following the hearing, with bereaved relatives hurling abuse.
After the hearing Humberside Police said the 30 counts of fraud by false representation which he today admitted related to the bodies found at Legacy’s Hessle Road premises in March last year.
All 30 people should have been cremated, and their families ‘advised they had been and provided with ashes between April 2023 and March 2024’, the force said.
The four counts of fraud by false representation in relation to unborn babies relate to ashes provided to families ‘following loss in pregnancy’ between August 2017 and March 2024, the force said.
One of the unborn babies was ‘recovered from the premises’, it said.
The 35th count of fraud by false representation relates to either families provided with what they thought were the ashes of their loved-ones, when ashes identified as their loved-one were later found at the parlour, or families who did not receive any ashes at all.
In a statement Humberside Police said: ‘We are unable to provide any further details or information at this time to ensure judicial proceedings are not jeopardised.
‘Further comment will be made available on conclusion of all court hearings, at which time the offences he has pleaded guilty to will also be dealt with.’
His trial is due to start on October 5 next year at Sheffield Crown Court.
