The owner of multiple funeral homes in Connecticut, already facing a larceny charge for allegedly stealing more than $70,000 from clients who had prepaid funeral contracts, has been arrested on nearly three-dozen new charges after police in one town say they were able to identify more than 20 victims who collectively lost more than $160,000 over the past decade.
Philip Pietras, 51, of Enfield was arrested Wednesday and charged with 22 counts of selling a funeral service contract with intent to defraud, 11 counts of second-degree larceny by embezzlement and one count of second-degree forgery, according to the Coventry Police Department.
Police said the arrest came after a lengthy investigation involving neighboring agencies and the Rockville State’s Attorney’s Office. According to police, multiple alleged victims reported that they had entered into prepaid funeral contracts with the Pietras Funeral Home’s Coventry location and that the contracts were fraudulent.
Police said investigators were able to dig up contracts that went as far back as 10 years ago which were allegedly found to be compromised. Coventry investigators were reportedly able to identify 19 cases involving 22 victims who collectively lost more than $165,000 through the alleged fraud.
CT funeral home owner charged after allegedly stealing more than $70,000 in prepayments
The new charges come after Pietras in April was arrested by Connecticut State Police and charged with first-degree larceny by embezzlement. A review of the Pietras Family Funeral Homes website at that time listed Pietras as the owner, president and funeral director and indicated the business had locations in Vernon, East Windsor, Coventry and Tolland.
State police investigators arrested Pietras after finding that he allegedly stole more than $70,000 in prepayments from clients.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit filed by state police, authorities began investigating Pietras in October 2024 after being contacted by an employee with a company that works with agencies like the state Department of Social Service and the Department of Developmental Services. The employee, who helps assist individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities, told police her employer helps manage the finances and accounts of these clients, the warrant affidavit said.
One specific type of account that they help manage is a prepayment funeral/burial fund, which involves payments that are made to a particular funeral home, the warrant affidavit said. The funeral home then typically deposits these payments into a trust account via an escrow agent, where they accrue interest over time until an individual dies and their funeral services are needed, investigators wrote in the warrant.
The individual who contacted police said she was assessing client accounts when she noticed a discrepancy involving a payment made to the Pietras Funeral Home’s Coventry location, according to the warrant. She told investigators a check had been given to the funeral home and was cleared by the bank, but was never deposited into the trust account, the warrant affidavit said.
The discrepancy led to the company conducting an audit of all eight clients who had accounts with Pietras Funeral Home. According to the warrant affidavit, the audit revealed that each client had substantial differences between the amount of money that was invested and what was in their accounts.
State police investigators said Pietras was found to be inappropriately using more than $71,000 worth of funds that were given to his business, the warrant affidavit said.
When police interviewed Pietras about the alleged fraud in February 2024, he reportedly blamed the discrepancies on the “age of the accounts, accounting problems, checks getting filed improperly, COVID and the frequency of how checks are received,” according to the warrant affidavit. He also reportedly said he was working with the DPH to rectify the issue, but the department told police he had not responded to their inquiries, state police wrote.
When asked if it was typical to use funds from the clients’ accounts to pay for things like vacations, flights and casino expenses, Pietras conceded that was not a normal practice but said “it might be the card I had available at the time…,” according to the warrant affidavit. He also told investigators he would be working to “pay the clients back,” state police wrote.
After his arrest in the spring, Pietras posted $50,000 bond, court records show. He has not yet entered a plea to the larceny charge.
Coventry police said Pietras posted $150,000 following his most recent arrest and is scheduled to face a judge to answer to the new charges on Sept. 30 in Rockville Superior Court.
According to court records, Pietras Funeral Home was issued a violation in May for allegedly failing to respond to a DCP complaint. That case remains pending, records show.
An attorney representing Pietras did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
