CPS to target assets of jailed funeral director

Prosecutors are pursuing the assets of Robert Bush, a funeral director recently jailed for 20 years, as they seek to recover money he stole from grieving families and charities. Bush, who ran Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, was convicted of 67 offenses, including denying 30 people a proper burial and providing incorrect ashes to families.

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We will be looking at him, at the financial aspects of this case, to see if we can confiscate any of the proceeds of his crimes and try to compensate the families.

Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Laura Tams KC stated that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will examine Bush's financial dealings to confiscate proceeds of his crimes and compensate victims. Mr. Justice Hilliard, who sentenced Bush, noted that the funeral director had "benefited very substantially" and "obviously lived very well" from his illicit activities.

Tams emphasized that Bush's actions were not a result of recent financial hardship but appeared to be a deliberate "business model." Evidence presented in court revealed that Bush paid himself £162,000 annually and transferred approximately £52,000 a year to his wife. Records show thousands of pounds were spent on holidays and flights. Between 2017 and 2024, over £3.5 million flowed into both the company's and Bush's personal accounts.

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It was not a case of somebody that had recently fallen on hard times. I think the scale of the offending, the length of time it had gone on for, showed that really this had become something of his business model.

The court heard details of Bush's offenses, which included leaving the remains of a stillborn baby for two years and giving the wrong ashes to parents. Bush's defense attorney, Richard Wright KC, acknowledged his client's previous good character but cited "greed, incompetence and an inability to keep up with his own failings" as contributing factors. However, police interviews revealed Bush claimed debts prevented him from paying for cremations, a stark contrast to his reported income and spending.

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Greed, incompetence and an inability to keep up with his own failings.

Officers discovered the funeral parlor in a state of disarray during a raid in March 2024. Bush, who previously lived in an affluent area of East Yorkshire and enjoyed motorcycle racing, was arrested at Heathrow Airport returning from a holiday in the United States. Tams described the case as "shocking" with "really serious breaches of trust," noting that over 13,000 pages of prosecution evidence were compiled. Families had been misled by Bush since 2012.

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Shocking case, with really serious breaches of trust.