Colchester undertaker defrauded money out of his students

Simon Hayward, 53, took payment from four people, falsely claiming he would supply tuition, book accredited exams and arrange membership with the British Institute of Embalmers (BIE).

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard one victim paid £875, believing as a result she had become a member of the BIE, when in fact she had not.

Another paid £450 for examination fees, but never received an exam date.

When she reported her dissatisfaction to the BIE, the official body found no payment had been received for the exam.

The offences were committed in 2018, but were only reported to the police in 2020.

In 2019, Hayward admitted a single count of fraud after he pocketed money meant for his father-in-law’s funeral and forged a cheque to try to cover his tracks.

He had kept the cash to help with his financial problems.

Appearing before magistrates yesterday, he admitted four counts of fraud relating to £3,380 paid by duped students.

In an impact statement, one victim blasted Hayward’s “selfish, dishonest, thieving conduct”, adding that “he had no thought for anyone but himself ”.

Another said: “This left me absolutely devastated and feeling like a complete mug.

“It only added to my deepseated belief that nothing good can happen to me.

“To talk about this man, even by email, makes me feel sick.

“I sincerely hope we are granted the justice we need.”

Raph Pigott, mitigating, said Hayward had not committed the frauds in a “calculated” way, but had hoped to reimburse the students once he was in a better financial position.

He said: “He had at the time 32 students, 28 of which were fine. It is not the case he has deliberately or cold-bloodedly, in a planned way, set out to defraud these people.”

Magistrates sentenced Hayward, of Gosbecks Road, Colchester, to 24 weeks imprisonment, suspended for a year, and ordered him to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

He must pay back the £3,380 to the victims.