PETERBOROUGH-A 44-year-old Peterborough man is facing fraud, criminal breach of trust and forgery charges following a joint investigation involving the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO) and Peterborough Police.
Peterborough Police Service’s Fraud Unit began an investigation into the misuse of pre-paid funeral contracts in June. Police say through a joint investigation with the BAO it was revealed that between 2006 and 2015 the accused allegedly defrauded a Millbrook funeral home of approximately $120,000 by not depositing pre-paid funeral contracts with customers into a trust account.
During this time the accused owned and operated the funeral home. Police say the investigation also revealed that in January and February of 2017 the accused wrote pre-paid funeral contracts forging customers’ signatures.
44 year old Patrick W. Benson of Otonabee Drive, Peterborough, is charged with Fraud over $5,000,Criminal breach of trust and Use, deals, acts on forged document X7.
Monica Jardine who owns Jardines Funeral Home in Fenelon Falls told Kawartha 411 all of the victims are covered by the BAO. “Their funds will be placed back into their policies by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario (BAO). she says. “Each and every Ontario funeral establishment has paid into a compensation fund which was set up for this very purpose. Every year funeral home owners would have to have a percentage based on their ‘call’ volume in order for the fund the compensation account. The goal was a million dollars which was reached in the mid 1990’s and the money is managed by the BAO.
The BAO is a provincially legislated organization which routinely conducts inspections in the Funeral Home industry.
Bensons Funeral Home was sold in 2015 and is under new ownership. Jardine says the new owners of the home are wonderful people. “The current owner of the funeral home is Millbrook is a fantastic and genuine professional with whom I have known for many years.”
</pphoto credit: Freaktography Open Casket Abandoned Funeral Home via photopin (license)
