Robert Bush was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for multiple offenses involving fraud and the mistreatment of bodies at his funeral home. During the hearing, a judge acknowledged that the prison term could not fully remedy the harm caused to grieving families.
Prosecutors detailed how Bush betrayed the trust placed in him by families by retaining bodies for extended periods after their scheduled cremations, delivering ashes belonging to the wrong individuals, and accepting payments for funeral plans without arranging the services. Additionally, he was found to have stolen donations made to charities collected at funeral services.
Bush expressed an unqualified apology to the families affected by his actions. His defense lawyer, Richard Wright KC, stated that Bush had conveyed remorse both in court and through a letter addressed to the court and the victims’ families. Wright acknowledged the profound pain and sense of betrayal experienced by those affected and described the scale of the damage caused by Bush’s conduct as difficult to comprehend.
Financial evidence presented during the trial revealed that between 2017 and 2024, while defrauding customers, Bush spent over £42,000 on holidays, £21,000 on motorcycle racing, and nearly £17,400 on home improvements. Prosecutor Steven Ball noted that from March 2017 to April 2024, nearly £1.49 million was transferred from Legacy funeral business accounts into Bush’s personal bank account. Despite more than £3 million being received by Legacy and Bush’s accounts during this period, the reported turnover to Companies House and HM Revenue and Customs did not accurately reflect this income.
Investigations uncovered that Bush kept 31 bodies, including that of an unborn baby stored in a paper bag, at Legacy’s Hessle Road funeral home. Families were falsely informed that their loved ones had been cremated, and some were given the ashes of unrelated individuals. Bush also sold fraudulent funeral plans worth over £500,000, covering more than 200 people.
Police intervened in March 2024 after concerns were raised about practices at Legacy. Officers found 35 bodies and over 100 sets of ashes at the premises. In April, Bush pleaded guilty to 30 counts of preventing lawful and decent burials and to theft related to 12 charities. He had already admitted to 30 counts of fraud by false representation concerning bodies found on-site, including four counts related to presenting ashes to women as those of their unborn children. Additional guilty pleas included fraud involving ashes of 57 individuals between 2017 and 2024 and a charge of fraudulent trading related to funeral plans from 2012 to 2024.
The sentencing underscores the serious breach of trust and extensive harm inflicted on families by Bush’s actions over several years.