'Crime pays': Victim astonished at early release of disgraced P.E.I. funeral director

Lowell Oakes, a former P.E.I. funeral director convicted of defrauding clients out of money for pre-paid funerals, is out on parole, and one of his victims says the tiny community of Crapaud is in shock.

"I couldn't believe it," said Debbie Matters.

"Here's someone who has stolen over $425,000 from friends and neighbours, including my parents, and he gets six months in jail and that's it. It feels like crime pays."

Matters said others in the community have expressed that same sentiment to her.

Oakes, the former owner of Dawson Funeral Home, was sentenced in March to two years minus a day in jail. That followed his conviction on 66 counts of fraud, 36 of which were for fraud over $5,000. RCMP found cases that went back as far as 1996. Oakes told his victims the money was going into a trust, as required by law, but the trusts were never created.

According to the Parole Board of Canada document on the decision to release him, the money Oakes defrauded was lost to a gambling addiction.

"Gambling has led to the depletion of your personal funds, led to financial hardship, and [you] resorted to crime for financial gain to compensate," the document said.

Day parole at home

The release of Oakes at this point in his sentence is not unusual.

Full parole is available in Canada after one-third of a sentence has been served, which in Oakes's case is about eight months.

Day parole is available six months before that, with a minimum requirement that six months be served.

What is unusual in the Oakes case is that his day parole does not require him to return to the Provincial Correctional Centre every night. The parole board determined he could serve his day parole at his home, where he would return to living with his wife.

"The Board is satisfied that a release on day parole to [another] location offers the necessary structure, stability, and emotional and financial support from a close family member that can serve as protective factors and ensure a controlled return in the community," the board decision says.

It is Oakes's largely unrestricted presence in the community that people find most shocking, said Matters.

"They find it hard to believe that he's actually out and back in the community and not even under house arrest," she said.

"He is just free to walk around the community. One person even commented that I feel like now I have to watch my back to see if he's coming."

Victims question no-contact order

There are some conditions attached to Oakes's release.

He may not gamble or enter any gambling establishments, and must follow a gambling addiction treatment plan. He may not be self-employed and must disclose his finances to his parole officer.

He is also not allowed to have contact with his victims.

This last condition is a concern for Matters. Crapaud only has about 350 residents. Given that Oakes had 66 victims there are few in the community not touched by his crimes.

"The Crapaud area is not big. Prince Edward Island is not a large area. I'm wondering how that can even be enforced," she said.

Funeral board plans changes

None of Oakes's victims have been compensated for their losses, said Matters.

Her own parents are out $19,000. There is no process available to refund that.

While the P.E.I. Funeral Services and Professions Board has no ability to refund that money, it is making a change to improve inspections in an effort to ensure there are no similar cases in the future.

The board plans to implement a consumer protection fee of $50 on all deaths registered in P.E.I. This fee, paid through funeral homes, will go to funding broadened inspections.

"This fee will play a vital role in maintaining the integrity and quality of funeral services across Prince Edward Island," the board said in a letter to funeral home operators in the province.

Matters likes the idea.

"I hope it's communicated to the victims and to the people at large so that people can get their trust back in the pre-arranged funerals, because I think it's a great thing," she said.

"It's something that allows grieving families to pre-plan, so they don't have to make challenging decisions when they're emotionally charged."

The parole board has pre-approved Oakes for full parole in about two months' time. The conditions of his parole will remain in place until he has served his full two years minus a day sentence.