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 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.
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.
Funeral director Robert Bush arriving at Hull Crown Court today
Bush was arrested following a ten-month probe by Humberside Police
Humberside Police launched an investigation into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors across three premises in Hull and East Yorkshire in March last year
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.
Relatives of grandmother Jessie Stockdale (pictured) were given what they believed were her ashes – when in reality her body was still languishing at the Hull parlour
Susan Stone, 78, is among those whose bodies were recovered from Legacy’s funeral parlour
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.
