Fraudster who stole thousands from grieving families jailed
Steven Drinkwater persuaded families in Wolverhampton to pay cash for funerals so that he could pocket the money.
A fraudster who stole thousands of pounds from grieving families in Wolverhampton has been jailed.
Between 2015 and 2016, Steven Drinkwater worked for a funeral-directors, and over the course of a year, persuaded families to pay cash for funerals so that he could pocket the money.
In June 2015, a staff member overheard Drinkwater accepting a sale for a funeral package and witnessed cash being given to him.
When he was asked if he had accepted a sale, Drinkwater said he hadn’t. But the staff member further probed him and he eventually admitted to the sale. He took almost a thousand pounds from his back pocket and handed it over.
Drinkwater put his coat on, left and never returned.
In the following months, when the funeral directors called customers to settle their balances, they were told that they had done so already - to Drinkwater.
In some cases, Drinkwater had fraudulently forged customer signatures on paperwork.
An investigation was launched and we issued a wanted appeal for him.
He remained wanted until his arrest on 7 January 2024 after he was detained by police in Devon following a tipoff from a member of the public.
The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to eight counts of fraud and was today sentenced to serve 10 months behind bars and a further 10 months on licence. Any further offending in this period will mean he will return immediately to prison.
Detective Sergeant Isobel Griffiths, from Wolverhampton Police, said: “This was an awful crime in which Drinkwater callously targeted grieving families when they were at their most vulnerable.
“He then went on the run, hoping to never have to face up to his crimes.
“The company that Drinkwater worked for are also victims in this. They trusted him to take care of these grieving families and instead he took advantage. The company honoured all sales that Drinkwater dealt with to ensure no family was at a loss.
“The sentence today shows that we will never give up in getting justice for victims of crime.”