CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

PEI

Victims frustrated Crapaud funeral fraud case adjourned

CBC
Thu, July 6, 2023 

Kim Stewart (left) and Susan MacKay were at court on Thursday, hoping there would be a plea in the Lowell Oakes prepaid funeral case. (Steve Bruce/CBC - image credit)

Families who say they lost thousands of dollars for prepaid funerals are frustrated the case against former funeral director Lowell Oakes, has been adjourned.

Oakes, who ran the now-closed Dawson Funeral Home in Crapaud, P.E.I., was charged with 66 counts of fraud last July.

That includes 36 counts of fraud over $5,000, and 30 counts of fraud under $5,000.

In P.E.I. Supreme Court Thursday, the Crown and defence attorneys said they need more time to work on the agreed statement of facts.

The case was adjourned until Aug. 10.

Lowell Oakes was funeral director at Dawson Funeral Home, which has since closed. (CBC)

That court appearance will likely be to set a date for Oakes to enter a plea, the Crown prosecutor said Thursday.

Kim Stewart's father, Milton, died in 2022. Stewart said the family lost over $7,300 to fund his funeral.

Can't move on

"Every time I speak, I cry. I can't think about it. Just when you think you're starting to move on, it's another court date. So you're starting all over," Stewart said.

"We just don't seem to ever get to move on. We haven't been able to grieve my dad properly because this is hanging over our head. So it's very frustrating, and I'm sure a lot of our victims feel the same way."

Susan MacKay was in the courtroom because her mother-in-law, Roma, was one of the people whose prepaid funeral money seemingly vanished.

MacKay said her mother died last year, and the $10,000 she paid for her own funeral disappeared.

"I'm just emotionally and mentally exhausted. It's just this has been a year now and it just never seems to go away," she said. "It's just it's time to move on. We just want closure."

'Delay, delay, delay'

Susan MacKay holds the order of service for her mother, Roma MacKay, who died on July 1, 2022.

Susan MacKay holds the order of service for her mother, Roma MacKay, who died last year. (Laura Meader/CBC)

The families say it's been difficult getting information about the case and what's happening.

"I don't understand this process at all other than it's just delay, delay, delay," MacKay said. "We're all worn-down and tired from the constant delays."

The families say they will continue to come to court.

He needs to see the faces of the people that he's victimized through all of this.

- Kim Stewart

"I feel we have to be a face," Stewart said. "We're victims. We have to show that, you know, we're not going away.

"When [Oakes] does come to court, he needs to see the faces of the people that he's victimized through all of this. A lot of us have known him all our lives and he needs to see these faces associated with the actions he's taken."

The fraud charges against Oakes have not been proven in court.