Colorado funeral home owners plead guilty to 190 counts of corpse abuse: Reports
The Colorado funeral home owners that had nearly 200 decomposing bodies at their facility pleaded guilty on Friday, according to reports.
Jon Hallford and Carie Hallford, who owned Return to Nature Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to 190 counts of corpse abuse, the Colorado Gazette, CBS News, and multiple other news outlets reported.
Authorities began investigating the Hallfords in October 2023. The investigation began after residents and businesses in the Penrose area reported a foul odor near the funeral home. After obtaining a search warrant, the FBI, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and local law enforcement discovered improperly stored human remains inside the building.
A further investigation revealed that about 190 bodies, which were in various states of decomposition, had been stored in the building, according to authorities.
"Some of the remains discovered had dates of death as far back as 2019," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in an October news release. "As part of their fraud scheme, the Hallfords misled customers of the funeral home into believing that the remains of their loved ones would be buried or cremated per their wishes and the terms of the parties’ contracts."
Colorado funeral home owners accused of defrauding grieving families
The family-owned and operated funeral home advertised that they performed "green" natural burials without embalming chemicals or metal caskets. Prosecutors said the Hallfords defrauded families across the country by "not providing a cremation or burial for the deceased as promised."
According to prosecutors, the Hallfords allegedly gave families dry concrete instead of ashes, collected more than $130,000 from families for cremations and burials they never performed. In addition, the Hallfords allegedly buried the wrong body on at least two occasions.
After authorities discovered the bodies, investigators said Jon Hallford falsely attributed the odor to his taxidermy hobby. The Environmental Protection Agency later concluded that the building was too full of "biohazards" and began demolition earlier this year.
The couple was arrested in November 2023 after fleeing to Oklahoma to avoid prosecution. Affidavits at the time revealed that the Hallfords each faced 249 charges connected to the investigation.
In April, the Hallfords were accused of fraudulently obtaining pandemic funds on behalf of their business, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Prosecutors said the couple received $882,300 by "misrepresenting the fact that Jon Hallford owed back child support and by claiming that their business was not engaged in criminal activity at the time they applied for COVID-19 relief funds."
The duo was also accused of misapplying the relief funds for personal purposes instead of using them for their business operations, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Funeral home owners face up to 20 years in prison
Last month, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announced that the Hallfords pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
As part of their plea agreements, prosecutors said the Hallfords also admitted to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration of more than $880,000 in pandemic relief funds.
The Colorado couple faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the fraud charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The duo was initially indicted on 13 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which will be dismissed under their plea agreements.
The Hallfords sentencing hearing is set for early 2025, court documents show.
Paste BN reached out to Colorado’s Office of the District Attorney for the Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen for comment.
Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at Paste BN. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, food recalls, health, lottery, and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads, and X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.