US funeral home owners accused of stashing dead bodies plead guilty to fraud charges
Jon and Carie Hallford allegedly stored 190 decaying bodies in a bug-infested building and sent grieving families fake ashes
Colorado funeral home owners accused of cheating customers and misspending nearly US$900,000 in pandemic relief funds, all while allegedly storing 190 decaying bodies in a building and sending grieving families fake ashes, pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal fraud charges centered around defrauding clients.
Jon and Carie Hallford each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The plea agreement, which stipulates that prosecutors will not request over 15 years imprisonment, still has to be approved by the judge.
The owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home, about an hour’s drive south of Denver, had each been charged with 14 other federal offences related to defrauding the US government and the funeral home’s customers, which would be dismissed under the plea agreement.
More than 200 criminal counts are already pending against them in Colorado state court, including for corpse abuse and forgery.
Assistant US Attorney Tim Neff said after the hearing that the plea agreement includes both Hallfords admitting to Covid-19 fraud and committing fraud against customers, which will play a role in sentencing.
The Hallfords used the pandemic aid and customers’ payments to buy a GMC Yukon and Infiniti that together were worth over US$120,000, laser body sculpting, trips to California, Florida and Las Vegas, US$31,000 in cryptocurrency and luxury items at stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co, according to court documents.
