Carie and Jon Hallford have recently pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges, a year after they absconded from Colorado, leaving behind a graveyard of 190 decaying corpses in their funeral home. The couple was accused of embezzling funds from customers and a COVID-19 relief program and squandering the money on their personal luxuries such as lavish travel, plastic surgeries, and high-end automobiles.
The Hallford’s faced a barrage of state and federal charges, including 15 federal counts focusing on wire fraud and conspiracy. Initially set to face trial last week, the couple altered their plea at the last minute, admitting their guilt during a court hearing where the anguished families of the victims could listen in via audioconference.
Federal prosecutors unveiled two fraudulent schemes orchestrated by the Hallfords, that accumulated just under $1 million. One scheme involved siphoning $882,300 from a relief fund meant for COVID-19-affected businesses, while the other exploited grieving customers who paid for dignified treatment of their deceased loved ones.
Despicable details emerged during court proceedings, depicting Hallford’s Return to Nature Funeral Home, as a nightmarish scene where bodies lay decaying and piled up like cordwood. Displaying a stark contrast to their promised natural burial processes without embalming fluids or metal caskets. The heinous conditions at the funeral home came to light a year ago when authorities were alarmed by a putrid stench emanating from the establishment.
Families, who entrusted their loved ones to the Hallfords, were presented with containers claiming to hold their ashes. However, investigations revealed that the so-called cremains could not possibly have originated from the bodies sent to the funeral home, implicating a gross betrayal of trust.
The Hallford’s misconduct extended to a lack of integrity in handling the remains, leading to a civil case where a judge mandated a jaw-dropping $950 million payment to the bereaved families as recompense for the mishandling of their loved ones’ remains. As Early as summer of 2020, the Hallfords discussed the mounting problems at their facility. Text message exchanges disclosed in court divulged the couple’s dilemma and their chilling deliberations on disposal methods, including disturbing options like burning bodies in a hole, using lye on bodies, or to even face the consequences of their deceitful actions.
According to the US Attorney’s Office, District of Colorado, “sentencing will be held at a later date and each defendant faces up to twenty years in federal prison.”
The Hallford’s sordid saga serves as a stark reminder of the catastrophic consequences of unchecked greed and deceit, leaving a trail of devastation in their wake and a community grappling with a harrowing narrative of betrayal and exploitation.
Owners of ‘horrific’ funeral home plead guilty to federal fraud charges : NPR
Photo obtained from Owners of Penrose Funeral Home Arrested and Charged with Multiple Felonies | Heart of the Rockies Radio