Latest news with #ReturntoNature
New York Times
05-08-2025
- New York Times
Owner of Funeral Home With Nearly 200 Decaying Bodies Admits to Fraud
The owner of a Colorado funeral home who promised so-called green burials but instead hid nearly 200 decaying bodies at the business pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court on Monday, according to court documents. The woman, Carie Hallford, ran the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colo., about 100 miles south of Denver, with her husband, Jon Hallford. The couple advertised burials that included biodegradable caskets and shrouds. But a foul smell emanating from the business led investigators to discover at least 190 corpses at the site in 2023, in a scene that the county sheriff called 'horrific.' The Hallfords had been leaving bodies to decompose at the site for years, according to prosecutors. They gave families urns filled with concrete dust instead of the ashes of the deceased and provided the wrong bodies for cemetery burials. On Monday, Ms. Hallford pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement in the U.S. District Court in Colorado to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a charge that carries up to 20 years in prison. She will also pay a fine of up to $250,000 and restitution of more than $1 million to victims, according to the plea agreement. Ms. Hallford, who is scheduled to be sentenced in December, had previously pleaded guilty to federal charges, but a judge rejected that agreement because it capped her sentence at 15 years. Mr. Hallford, who pleaded guilty to similar federal charges last year, was given 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence, in June. Prosecutors in the cases accused the Hallfords of two main schemes: Cheating customers by selling cremation services without performing them and defrauding the Small Business Administration of more than $800,000 through fraudulent Covid-19 pandemic relief loan applications. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New Indian Express
28-06-2025
- New Indian Express
'This is not an ordinary fraud case': Funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 decaying bodies sentenced to 20 years in prison
DENVER: A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building and sent grieving families fake ashes received the maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison on Friday, for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid. Jon Hallford, owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court last year. Separately, Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse in state court and will be sentenced in August. At Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence and Hallford's attorney asked for 10 years. Judge Nina Wang said that although the case focused on a single fraud charge, the circumstances and scale of Hallford's crime and the emotional damage to families warranted the longer sentence. 'This is not an ordinary fraud case,' she said. In court before the sentencing, Hallford told the judge that he opened Return to Nature to make a positive impact in people's lives, 'then everything got completely out of control, especially me.' 'I am so deeply sorry for my actions,' he said. 'I still hate myself for what I've done.' Hallford and his wife, Carie Hallford, were accused of storing the bodies between 2019 and 2023 and sending families fake ashes. Investigators described finding the bodies in 2023 stacked atop each other throughout a squat, bug-infested building in Penrose, a small town about a two-hour drive south of Denver. The morbid discovery revealed to many families that their loved ones weren't cremated and that the ashes they had spread or cherished were fake. In two cases, the wrong body was buried, according to court documents. Many families said it undid their grieving processes. Some relatives had nightmares, others have struggled with guilt, and at least one wondered about their loved one's soul. Among the victims who spoke during Friday's sentencing was a boy named Colton Sperry. With his head poking just above the lectern, he told the judge about his grandmother, who Sperry said was a second mother to him and died in 2019.
New York Post
28-06-2025
- New York Post
Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 decaying bodies sentenced to 20 years in prison
A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building and sent grieving families fake ashes received the maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison on Friday, for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid. Jon Hallford, owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court last year. Separately, Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse in state court and will be sentenced in August. 6 Return to Nature Funeral Home owner Jon Hallford was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday. Muskogee County Sheriff's Office At Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence and Hallford's attorney asked for 10 years. Judge Nina Wang said that although the case focused on a single fraud charge, the circumstances and scale of Hallford's crime and the emotional damage to families warranted the longer sentence. 'This is not an ordinary fraud case,' she said. In court before the sentencing, Hallford told the judge that he opened Return to Nature to make a positive impact in people's lives, 'then everything got completely out of control, especially me.' 'I am so deeply sorry for my actions,' he said. 'I still hate myself for what I've done.' 6 Hallford stashed 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building. AP Hallford and his wife, Carie Hallford, were accused of storing the bodies between 2019 and 2023 and sending families fake ashes. Investigators described finding the bodies in 2023 stacked atop each other throughout a squat, bug-infested building in Penrose, a small town about a two-hour drive south of Denver. The morbid discovery revealed to many families that their loved ones weren't cremated and that the ashes they had spread or cherished were fake. In two cases, the wrong body was buried, according to court documents. 6 Investigators discovered that the ashes the funeral home sent to grieving families was fake. AP Many families said it undid their grieving processes. Some relatives had nightmares, others have struggled with guilt, and at least one wondered about their loved one's soul. Among the victims who spoke during Friday's sentencing was a boy named Colton Sperry. With his head poking just above the lectern, he told the judge about his grandmother, who Sperry said was a second mother to him and died in 2019. 6 Hallford and his wife ran the Return to Nature Funeral Home. Return to Nature Colorado Her body languished inside the Return to Nature building for four years until the discovery, which plunged Sperry into depression. He said he told his parents at the time, 'If I die too, I could meet my grandma in heaven and talk to her again.' His parents brought him to the hospital for a mental health check, which led to therapy and an emotional support dog. 'I miss my grandma so much,' he told the judge through tears. 6 Families impacted by the funeral home owner's lies and disturbing business decisions hugged each other after Hallford was sentenced. AP Federal prosecutors accused both Hallfords of pandemic aid fraud, siphoning the money and spending it and customer's payments on a GMC Yukon and Infiniti worth over $120,000 combined, along with $31,000 in cryptocurrency, luxury items from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and even laser body sculpting. Derrick Johnson told the judge that he traveled 3,000 miles to testify over how his mother was 'thrown into a festering sea of death.' 'I lie awake wondering, was she naked? Was she stacked on top of others like lumber?' said Johnson. 6 Chrystina Page, an impacted family member, yelled at Jon Hallford as he left a preliminary hearing on Feb. 8, 2024. AP 'While the bodies rotted in secret, (the Hallfords) lived, they laughed and they dined,' he added. 'My mom's cremation money likely helped pay for a cocktail, a day at the spa, a first class flight.' Jon Hallford's attorney, Laura H. Suelau, asked for a lower sentence of 10 years in the hearing Friday, saying that Hallford 'knows he was wrong, he admitted he was wrong' and hasn't offered an excuse. His sentencing in the state case is scheduled in August. Asking for a 15-year sentence for Hallford, Assistant US Attorney Tim Neff described the scene inside the building. Investigators couldn't move into some rooms because the bodies were piled so high and in various states of decay. FBI agents had to put boards down so they could walk above the fluid, which was later pumped out. Carie Hallford is scheduled to go to trial in the federal case in September, the same month as her next hearing in the state case in which she's also charged with 191 counts of corpse abuse.
NBC News
28-06-2025
- NBC News
Funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 decaying bodies sentenced to 20 years in prison
DENVER — A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building and sent grieving families fake ashes received the maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison Friday, for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid. Jon Hallford, owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court last year. Separately, Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse in state court and will be sentenced in August. At Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence and Hallford's attorney asked for 10 years. Judge Nina Wang said that although the case focused on a single fraud charge, the circumstances and scale of Hallford's crime and the emotional damage to families warranted the longer sentence. 'This is not an ordinary fraud case,' she said. In court before the sentencing, Hallford told the judge that he opened Return to Nature to make a positive impact in people's lives, 'then everything got completely out of control, especially me.' 'I am so deeply sorry for my actions,' he said. 'I still hate myself for what I've done.' Hallford and his wife, Carie Hallford, were accused of storing the bodies between 2019 and 2023 and sending families fake ashes. Investigators described finding the bodies in 2023 stacked atop each other throughout a squat, bug-infested building in Penrose, a small town about a two-hour drive south of Denver. The morbid discovery revealed to many families that their loved ones weren't cremated and that the ashes they had spread or cherished were fake. In two cases, the wrong body was buried, according to court documents. Many families said it undid their grieving processes. Some relatives had nightmares, others have struggled with guilt, and at least one wondered about their loved one's soul. Among the victims who spoke during Friday's sentencing was a boy named Colton Sperry. With his head poking just above the lectern, he told the judge about his grandmother, who Sperry said was a second mother to him and died in 2019. Her body languished inside the Return to Nature building for four years until the discovery, which plunged Sperry into depression. He said he told his parents at the time, 'If I die too, I could meet my grandma in heaven and talk to her again.' His parents brought him to the hospital for a mental health check, which led to therapy and an emotional support dog. 'I miss my grandma so much,' he told the judge through tears. Federal prosecutors accused both Hallfords of pandemic aid fraud, siphoning the money and spending it and customer's payments on a GMC Yukon and Infiniti worth over $120,000 combined, along with $31,000 in cryptocurrency, luxury items from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and even laser body sculpting. Derrick Johnson told the judge that he traveled 3,000 miles to testify over how his mother was 'thrown into a festering sea of death.'
Hindustan Times
28-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Colorado funeral home owner gets 20 years for hiding 190 decaying bodies
A Colorado funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 dead bodies in a decrepit building and sent grieving families fake ashes received the maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison on Friday, for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid. Funeral home owner who stashed nearly 190 decaying bodies sentenced to 20 years in prison(Representative image/Reuters) Jon Hallford, owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court last year. Separately, Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse in state court and will be sentenced in August. At Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors sought a 15-year sentence and Hallford's attorney asked for 10 years. Judge Nina Wang said that although the case focused on a single fraud charge, the circumstances and scale of Hallford's crime and the emotional damage to families warranted the longer sentence. 'This is not an ordinary fraud case,' she said. In court before the sentencing, Hallford told the judge that he opened Return to Nature to make a positive impact in people's lives, 'then everything got completely out of control, especially me.' 'I am so deeply sorry for my actions,' he said. 'I still hate myself for what I've done.' Hallford and his wife, Carie Hallford, were accused of storing the bodies between 2019 and 2023 and sending families fake ashes. Investigators described finding the bodies in 2023 stacked atop each other throughout a squat, bug-infested building in Penrose, a small town about a two-hour drive south of Denver. The morbid discovery revealed to many families that their loved ones weren't cremated and that the ashes they had spread or cherished were fake. In two cases, the wrong body was buried, according to court documents. Many families said it undid their grieving processes. Some relatives had nightmares, others have struggled with guilt, and at least one wondered about their loved one's soul. Among the victims who spoke during Friday's sentencing was a boy named Colton Sperry. With his head poking just above the lectern, he told the judge about his grandmother, who Sperry said was a second mother to him and died in 2019. Her body languished inside the Return to Nature building for four years until the discovery, which plunged Sperry into depression. He said he told his parents at the time, 'If I die too, I could meet my grandma in heaven and talk to her again.' His parents brought him to the hospital for a mental health check, which led to therapy and an emotional support dog. 'I miss my grandma so much,' he told the judge through tears. Federal prosecutors accused both Hallfords of pandemic aid fraud, siphoning the money and spending it and customer's payments on a GMC Yukon and Infiniti worth over $120,000 combined, along with $31,000 in cryptocurrency, luxury items from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and even laser body sculpting. Derrick Johnson told the judge that he traveled 3,000 miles (4,830 kilometers) to testify over how his mother was 'thrown into a festering sea of death.' 'I lie awake wondering, was she naked? Was she stacked on top of others like lumber?" said Johnson. 'While the bodies rotted in secret, (the Hallfords) lived, they laughed and they dined,' he added. 'My mom's cremation money likely helped pay for a cocktail, a day at the spa, a first class flight.' Jon Hallford's attorney, Laura H. Suelau, asked for a lower sentence of 10 years in the hearing Friday, saying that Hallford 'knows he was wrong, he admitted he was wrong' and hasn't offered an excuse. His sentencing in the state case is scheduled in August. Asking for a 15 year sentence for Hallford, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Neff described the scene inside the building. Investigators couldn't move into some rooms because the bodies were piled so high and in various states of decay. FBI agents had to put boards down so they could walk above the fluid, which was later pumped out. Carie Hallford is scheduled to go to trial in the federal case in September, the same month as her next hearing in the state case in which she's also charged with 191 counts of corpse abuse.
