Funeral director faces new charges over stolen money to fund a gambling habit

• New charges have been brought against a funeral director who is believed to have embezzled from clients’ accounts to sustain his gambling habit
• Pietras is believed to have spent years gambling, and has been estranged from his wife, Jessica, who confirmed that the man had a history of gambling
• The police believe that as many as 100 people may have been "defrauded" by the funeral director

A funeral director is in even more trouble after investigators brought fresh charges against him late last month. Philip Pietras from Connecticut was originally charged by local police in April this year and faced scrutiny over alleged first-degree larceny by embezzlement.

Funeral director faces more scrutiny in alleged theft of customer funds

This is not the only charge he is fighting as he has now been slapped with 31 counts of unfair trade practices, three first-degree larceny. On top of this, Pietras is also facing 14 counts of second-degree larceny.

His predicament is supposedly tied to gambling. He allegedly stole funds from dozens of clients of the Pietras Family Funeral Homes, which he runs, to continue gambling and pay off accumulated gambling debt.

Pietras is specifically charged with breaching state laws that relate to the running and sorting of funds submitted to funeral homes. For example, any money that is paid for future services ought to be placed with trusted third-party companies that manage escrow accounts.

Funeral homes accept advance payments to arrange people’s own funeral services and thus help alleviate any financial and emotional distress that surviving family members may experience in the wake of a person’s passing away.

Pietras was handling the money himself before submitting it to such companies, only to be later discovered he failed to place the money with the companies. As many as 31 transactions have been affected, but the exact count is still unknown, with police suspecting that 100 people ended up defrauded in the end.

An established history of gambling

As to his gambling habits, Pietras is alleged to have been gambling at numerous venues, including the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, and some of the largest gambling hubs around the country.

Pietras’ gambling has been going on for a very long time, too, as he supposedly started gambling in 2010 and may have gambled more than $8m at the MGM Springfield alone.

Pietras is also said to have a history of drinking, and his estranged wife, Jessica, has attested to the man’s gambling and alcohol habits.

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