State to offer financial assistance to people who had pre-paid funeral funds stolen

More than 120 people and counting in the state have had their money stolen by former funeral director Philip Pietras of Pietras Family Funeral Homes, according to police. They say he embezzled prepaid funeral funds for over a decade.

Now, financial relief is on the way for people who lost their money, funded by the state. There is $1 million available to the people who lost money, and they are allocated up to $10,000 “for any one funeral service contract.”

The “Act Concerning Unlawful Funeral Service Practices” is part of the approved state budget. It also creates a working group to instill more oversight of funeral home operations.

“They’re taking care of the small people once in a while, not the big people,” said Ernie Ellis, of Vernon. “I didn’t want to put more stress on my children. This money coming in will help us an awful lot.”

“Here’s hoping our crying days are over for a little while. It hurts,” said Sheila Lawlor, of Vernon.

Ellis and Lawlor told NBC Connecticut they lost $12,300 and $6,000, respectively. Both explained that they paid Pietras Family Funeral Homes in advance for their funerals years ago, only to learn that Pietras was accused of embezzling money from his clients. When they called their trusts, they learned their money was nowhere to be found.

Police alleged Pietras had been stealing and gambling his clients’ money as far back as 2009.

“This fraud was able to happen because there wasn’t strong oversight,” said Rep. Tammy Nuccio (R–Tolland).

A working group is beginning to examine how this could be avoided in the future. Beginning in July 2027, the victims will be eligible for financial relief for the money they lost. This is funded by an existing budget structure and will not raise taxes, according to Nuccio.

“We’re going to be looking at a Florida model, which looks at putting a $5 charge on any of these insurance plans that are sold in the future, or how funeral home directors have to file their license, maybe putting a small fee on them to kind of continue to fund this,” said Nuccio.

It’s possible that a number of people who would be eligible for these state funds are in nursing homes and need to navigate how receiving this level of payment could affect the benefits they receive.

Nuccio explained that they will be looking into this over the next year in the working group. She says they are examining whether it is possible to transfer the funding to a funeral home of the client’s choice on their behalf, rather than paying it directly to the clients.

The legal process for Pietras is ongoing, and he continues to face charges of larceny, embezzlement, and intent to defraud.

“This, in my opinion, does not take him off the hook, but it does give some reprieve to the people that he took advantage of and scammed,” said Nuccio.

Ellis and Lawlor said they’re thankful for the fund and hope justice is served soon.

“It’s not closure. He needs to get what’s coming from him,” said Lawlor.

“I wish we were getting money from him, not the state. It’s not the state’s fault, it’s his fault,” said Ellis.

Pietras is due back in court on June 12. NBC Connecticut has reached out to Pietras’ attorney, who said they have no comment at this time.

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