Former Crapaud funeral director pleads guilty to 66 fraud charges

A formerfuneral director accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in funeral arrangements in Crapaud, P.E.I., has pleaded guilty to dozens of fraud charges.

Some family members of the victims came out of the courtroom Thursday in Charlottetown with tears in their eyes, hugging one another andsaying they were relieved the case was moving forward.

Susan MacKaysays her mother-in-law lost about $10,000 after the money she gave to the now-closed Dawson Funeral Home for her own funeral disappeared.

"We all feel so violated," MacKay said. "How our trust was betrayed in a member of the community we all looked up to and trusted it takes a long time to get over something like that."

Lowell Oakes, who ran the funeral home,was charged with 66 counts of fraud last July.

That includes 36 counts of fraud over $5,000 and 30 counts of fraud under $5,000.

Oakes spoke briefly in courton Thursday to enter his plea, sayinghe understood the charges he waspleading guilty to.

'Sadness and frustration'

Families CBC spoke to said it wasemotional hearing all of the victims' names read out in court, and the amount of money they lost: $425,000 in total.

Some had prepaid funeral contracts, others didn't.

All said they feel betrayed by Oakes.

"Just to hear all thenames,and especially my mom, it just brought back a lot of sadness and frustration," said Kathy Norring.

Norring said her 96-year-old motherhad given Oakes about $8,600.Now, she said, hermom is "going to have to pay for her own funeral again."

Crown attorney Christopher White read a statement of facts that said Oakes had a gambling addiction. Oakes' paperwork was described as "disorganized."

The court heard the former funeral director had also borrowed money from some victims, and that a bank manager accused him of mishandling business funds.

'This should never have happened'

Oakes had been a member of the P.E.I. Funeral Servicesand ProfessionsBoard, which regulatesthe industry.

The board was established in 2016, but it didn't perform its first inspection of theDawson Funeral Home until 2021.

Family members said it was frustrating that more was not done to protect them.

"This went on for a long, long time and this should never have happened," MacKay said. "There were problems on many levels."

MacKay's mother-in-law prepaid for her funeral in 2012 and died last year, she said.She and her husband had to pay for the funeral a second time.

Debbie Matters, whose mother and father purchased prearranged funerals from Oakes in 2014, said the family lost about $18,000.

"I would love to see compensation set up by the government," Matters said, adding that covering the funeral costs of those who've already paid would be enough.

Peg Gallant, 93, paid $4,300 for a pre-arranged funeral. Shesaid she was relieved by Oakes' guilty plea.

"Knowing him as a child, [I was] disappointed in the way he treated people," she said.

Gallant said she hopes Oakes gets help for his gambling addiction.

The Crown will now work on a pre-sentence report and gather victim impact statements, many of which will be read in court.

Because there are so many victims involved, it could be a lengthy process. No date has been set yet for sentencing.

As part of sentencing, the courts could make an order to pay victims back. A bankruptcy process is already underway.

Many of the victims CBC spoke with say they don't expect to get their money back.