A funeral owner from Coventry is facing charges for allegedly stealing money from several clients and using it to gamble, according to an arrest warrant.
Philip Pietras, 51, allegedly took thousands of dollars from at least eight clients over the span of several years. An investigation started in October 2024.
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WATCH HEREPietras Funeral Home worked with agencies including the Department of Social Services and the Department of Developmental Services to help people in need, according to the warrant.
The funeral home allegedly manages a pre-payment funeral/burial fund for these clients. Once they're given the money, the funeral home is supposed to deposit these payments into a trust account, and the money accrues interest over time, the warrant states.
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SIGN UP In the warrant, a person alleges that the funeral home, located on Boston Turnpike in Coventry, was given a check, but it was never deposited into their trust account.
All eight clients with open accounts were found to have substantial differences between the amount of money invested and what was present in their accounts, the warrant states.
A total of $81,300 was reported missing, according to authorities. A worker with the Department of Development Services told police that they reported the issue to the Department of Public Health, but received no response and were ultimately then told to contact police, the warrant says.
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Bank transactions revealed that Pietras used some of the money for gambling at various casinos. The money was also used to pay for hotels, flights, restaurants and shopping ventures, according to the warrant.
During an interview, Pietras told detectives that he was out of work for a period of time and some "files were just filed and not completed," and he "isn't trying to fraud anybody or anything like that," the warrant reads.
Pietras was arrested on Sunday and he faces a first-degree larceny (embezzlement) charge. He was released after posting a $50,000 bond and is due in court on April 14.
