Docs: New Castle funeral home employee stole payments from grieving families

NEW CASTLE, Ind. - An ex-New Castle funeral home employee faces over 30 criminal charges after being accused of stealing thousands of dollars in payments from grieving families.




Joshua H. Silvers, 44, was arrested and charged last week in Henry County with 31 counts of theft, forgery and fraud. Police say Silvers stole more than $172,000 in payments from customers while working at Rose City Funeral Home in New Castle.




Court documents filed last Friday in Henry Circuit Court detail how police became aware of Silvers. Investigators were called on Sept. 17, 2024, to speak with the owners of Rose City Funeral Home, who said they had found discrepancies in their financial books two weeks prior.




The owners told police that several of their customers with outstanding bills claimed to have already paid Silvers. They also had reportedly spoken with Citizens State Bank and confirmed that Silvers had cashed many of the customers' checks.




Digging further, the owners found instances where Silvers would charge certain amounts for funeral services, grave openings and headstones but then deposit less money. Other times, customers said Silvers made them pay for services in cash that was never logged into the books.




Investigators began looking into the Rose City Funeral Home books and matched them with bank records. In total, they found 128 instances of Silvers depositing full or partial payments meant for the funeral home into his personal accounts. They estimate he stole $172,717.66.




Police learned Silvers was hired at the funeral home in December 2021, but say he did not begin stealing until 2022. He was fired in August 2024 after the financial issues were discovered. After confronting Silvers about the discrepancies, the owners said he "factory reset" all the company computers to try and hide his actions.




Further investigation revealed that, in addition to stealing checks made out to the funeral home, Silvers had allegedly forged many signatures. Court documents state that 20 forgeries were discovered, with Silvers reportedly filling out documents in customers' names. The suspect also reportedly signed for a home mortgage by forging his own boss's signature.

After ample evidence was gathered against Silvers, police submitted reports to the Henry County Prosecutor's Office. He was officially charged on May 23 with:

• Theft - Level 5 Felony
  
  
  
  • Three counts
  
  
  
  





• Theft - Level 6 Felony
  
  
  
  • Seven counts
  
  
  
  





• Theft - Class A Misdemeanor
  
  
  
  • One count
  
  
  
  





• Forgery - Level 6 Felony
  
  
  
  • 20 counts
  
  
  
  

Silvers was then arrested Wednesday on a warrant and booked into the Henry County Jail. An initial hearing in his case was held Thursday afternoon in front of Judge Kit C. Dean Crane.





via: https://fox59.com/indiana-news/docs-new-castle-funeral-home-employee-stole-payments-from-grieving-families/