Man given prison sentence after Essex family paid for non-existent funeral
Mark Kerbey was jailed after he promised a funeral which never happened
Last updated 28th Jul 2025
A man has been jailed after conning a family from Southend out of money to pay for a funeral that never happened.
Mark Kerbey, 62, was given a prison sentence of seven years and three months after being found guilty of defrauding the family out of their money to pay for their late loved one.
In January 2020, a woman approached Kerbey after her husband had died at Southend Hospital earlier that month.
She paid to have his funeral arranged, while Kerbey undertook the process for his business "Trinity Funeral Home".
However, while the family had given their money to the business, they were unaware that the funeral directory had been banned from using the facilities at both Bowers Gifford Crematorium and Southend cemetery in any way.
In total, £2,600 was taken from the family in order to pay for the funeral, and the funeral would take place at nearby Pitsea Crematorium.
Kerbey had been told that the business was unable to take on the event due, but continued to present the family with an order of service, pretending the funeral was going ahead.
When the congregation arrived at the crematorium the following day, it soon became apparent that no funeral had been arranged, but Kerbey went on to blame others for the failure of the event to go ahead.
In an effort to maintain the event, Kerbey invited the congregation to his funeral home - in a 15ftx15ft room, meaning that many guests had to wait outside, with the 20-minute service proving to have no relation to the man who had died.
The man would eventually be laid to rest on March 17th, 2020 - two months after he died - but no family was present due to the amount of money that had been spent previously.
Following an investigation, Kerbey - from Station Road in Westcliff had been charged with fraud by false representation and was found guilty by a jury on March 26th.
Appearing before a court on Friday (July 25th), Kerbey was sentenced for all his offences, with Essex Police officer PC Daniel Hart giving his reaction following the sentencing.
"Mark Kerbey’s actions are amongst the cruellest I have seen in my 18-year policing career and I’m glad that we have secured justice for the family despite his prolonged attempts not to be held accountable," PC Hart said.