Fife conman Barry Stevenson-Hamilton struck off care register

Barry Stevenson-Hamilton duped customers into believing they were paying for pre-paid funeral packages, but kept the money for himself.

The conman, who was director of Stevenson Funeral Directors Ltd, which had premises in Rosyth, and Funeral (Care) Scotland Ltd, was charged with having formed a scheme to obtain money by fraud, acquiring £130,207 between January 2016 and September 2019.

He was jailed for 33 months last year at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.

After he was rumbled by employee Sarah Yorke in 2019, the former undertaker registered as Barry Fisher with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

During this time he acted as a support worker in a care home service for adults.

Ms Yorke, while welcoming the decision by the SSSC, said she doesn't "underestimate Barry at all" and that he would "find a way" to continue his scams.

Sarah Yorke rumbled the undertaker's scam. (Image: Contributed)

She told the Press: "I think it's fantastic and certainly they have taken the view that they will do everything in their power to prevent him from working with vulnerable or elderly people.

"That's his target audience, that's who he goes to, but as much as I think that's brilliant I don't underestimate Barry at all.

"They may have struck him off as Barry Fisher, that's not even his name, but all he needs to do is change his name, get another load of documentation, and get back in there again.

"I would bet my mortgage on it.

"Make no bones about it, he will find a way, as much as I think it's fantastic that they have taken that action, he will absolutely find a way around it."

In March 2021 a Temporary Suspension Order (TSO) was placed on his record while working as healthcare assistant in a hospital setting for Clinical 24, who he failed to inform about the TSO.

In 2022 he admitted pretending to be a qualified nurse during the coronavirus pandemic at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

READ MORE: Victims relive undertaker's scam for true crime TV series

The charge stated that he acted with intent to deceive at an undisclosed address in Lanarkshire on January 14, 2021, and falsely represented himself as a registered nurse.

The SSSC has now removed his registration as a support worker.

A report stated: "Social services workers are required to act with honesty and integrity at all times.

"You have been convicted of portraying yourself as a registered nurse and convicted of fraud.

"Such convictions represent an abuse of the trust and confidence placed in you, and represent the most serious of departures from the codes of practice.

"These behaviours amount to impairment that is fundamentally incompatible with professional registration."

It added that his failure to disclose to his employer that he had been made subject to a TSO indicated "underlying values and attitudinal issues".

The report continued: "While no harm was noted to have come to service users from the behaviours, there is a significant risk of harm from all behaviours should they be repeated.

"All the behaviours resulting in convictions were intentional in nature and are undoubtably very serious.

"They amount to a pattern of misleading behaviour that by their nature are more inclined to be repeated.

It said that public protection concerns were "substantial" and that the behaviour risked damage to the reputation of the profession.

The SSSC did not consider any mitigating factors to be in Stevenson-Hamilton's favour.