- A funeral director in Connecticut allegedly used pre-payment accounts as his personal piggy bank
- Philip Pietras is accused of gambling millions of dollars at casinos across the country
New allegations against a Connecticut funeral director who prosecutors believe stole clients’ deposit money for pre-planned arrangements to fund his gambling habit.
In April, Philip Pietras, 51, was charged by Connecticut State Police with first-degree larceny by embezzlement. Dozens of clients of Pietras Family Funeral Homes have since brought claims that their prepayment funeral accounts have gone missing.
Pietras had remained free on $200K bail until the Connecticut Superior Court issued a subsequent warrant for his arrest. Pietras turned himself in on Nov. 25 at 7:15 am.
Pietras has been charged with 31 counts of unfair trade practices, three first-degree larceny, and 14 second-degree larceny counts. The charges join the earlier first-degree larceny by embezzlement charge.
The added charges stem from a state police investigation that involved interviewing former employees and clients of Pietras Family Funeral Homes, which had locations in Coventry, East Windsor, Tolland, and Vernon.
Funeral Costs Covered Casino Expenses
Pietras is accused of violating state funeral laws that require funeral homes and directors to deposit monies for future services into escrow accounts managed by trust companies. Pietras’ employees told law enforcement that it was common for checks for pre-planned arrangements to be handed to Pietras himself, who was supposed to deposit the money into escrow accounts.
The probe determined that money for at least 31 clients was never deposited but instead went into Pietras’ personal accounts. From there, he used the money to gamble at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun and other casinos across the country, from Florida and Massachusetts to Atlantic City and Las Vegas.
Law enforcement alleges that Pietras’ thefts defrauded more than 100 people, including an 86-year-old relative and individuals with disabilities. Prosecutors also believe Pietras violated health and zoning laws by living at his funeral home’s Coventry location.
At MGM Springfield alone, investigators, assisted by MGM Resorts, found that Pietras’ player rewards card showed “slot coin in” totaling $8,472,050.82. At Mohegan Sun, Pietras’ player history showed he lost more than $1.22 million between January 2010 and November 2024. At Foxwoods, tracking showed he gambled over $8.15 million.
The Connecticut State Police’s probe concluded that Pietras was a heavy alcohol drinker. The investigation also determined that Pietras’ estranged wife, Jessica, “had heavy alcohol drinking habits” and gambled extensively, too.
The arrest warrant suggests that Jessica Pietras gambled over $535K at MGM Springfield.Â
Funeral License Lost
Funeral prearrangements allow individuals to determine their own funeral services and reduce the stress and financial worry on surviving family members. Pietras’ alleged actions will only cause added angst among his supposed victims.
In July, Pietras’ funeral license was terminated by the Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers and Funeral Directors. The state agency determined that Pietras was no longer suitable to hold a license in the wake of the many charges against him.
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