A Shocking Revelation: Funeral Home Owners Indicted for Misusing Pandemic Relief Funds
Amidst the grim backdrop of a Colorado funeral home where 190 decaying bodies were discovered, a couple faces federal charges for allegedly misspending nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds. Court documents unsealed on Monday reveal that the couple, Jon and Carie Hallford, used the funds for vacations, cosmetic surgery, jewelry, and other personal expenses.
The indictment not only confirms previous accusations of providing families with dry concrete instead of cremated ashes but also alleges that the couple buried the wrong body on two occasions. Shockingly, the couple is accused of collecting over $130,000 from families for cremation and burial services that were never rendered.
These federal charges, totaling 15, are in addition to the more than 200 criminal counts the Hallfords are already facing in Colorado state court. The charges range from corpse abuse to money laundering, theft, and forgery.
If convicted of the federal offenses, the couple could face up to 20 years in prison and fines of $250,000, according to the indictment.
Jon and Carie Hallford, owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs, appeared in federal court on Monday, wearing shackles as they stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Varholak for their initial appearance.
Carie Hallford's attorney, Chaz Melihercik, expressed his intention to oppose detention at the upcoming hearing. Jon Hallford's public defender, Kilie Latendresse, informed the judge that he had been complying with his bond conditions in the state case and argued that detention was unwarranted.
The recent charges and allegations have caused further distress for families who entrusted their loved ones to the funeral home.
Each new detail that emerges about the case serves as a shock to Tanya Wilson, who engaged Return to Nature to cremate her mother's remains. Wilson scattered the ashes with family in Hawaii. However, following the disturbing revelation, Wilson learned that those ashes did not belong to her mother, whose body has now been identified among the 190 decaying bodies.
Like Wilson, hundreds of family members believed they had laid their loved ones to rest or held onto their ashes for comfort, only to have that sense of closure shattered.
"I honestly feel like I have whiplash, and I can't hold onto one emotion long enough to be able to process it," Wilson expressed over the phone.
Before the new indictment was unsealed, public records showed the Hallfords had been plagued by debt — facing evictions and lawsuits for unpaid cremations even as they spent lavishly on themselves.
The indictment alleges the couple used $882,300 in pandemic relief funds to buy items that also included a vehicle, dinners, tuition for their child and cryptocurrency. The fraud involved three loans obtained between March 2020 and October 2021, authorities said.
Previously released court documents from the state abuse of corpse case reveal more details about what they were spending money on.
They bought a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti that together were worth over $120,000 — enough to cover cremation costs twice over for all of the bodies found in their business' facility last October, according to previous court testimony from FBI Agent Andrew Cohen.
"That is just thoroughly disgusting for a lack of a better term, just reading about all the money that they had," said Wilson. "Just the price of the two vehicles that he bought ... it was enough to just do right by these families."
The Hallfords also paid for trips to California, Florida and Las Vegas, as well as $31,000 in cryptocurrency, laser body sculpting and shopping at luxury retailers like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., according to court documents.
The couple have not yet entered pleas to the state's abuse of corpse charges.
The Hallfords left behind a trail of unresolved debts, dissatisfied landlords, and contentious business disagreements.
Prior to their departure, the couple assured a previous landlord that they would clear their outstanding rent once they received payment for their services rendered to the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the COVID-19 crisis. Their business website prominently displayed logos for FEMA and the Department of Defense.
Contrary to their claims, FEMA confirmed that they had no contractual agreements with the funeral home. Additionally, a search in the defense department database revealed no contracts with Return to Nature.
Public records indicate that the company neglected to pay over $5,000 in property taxes for one of its establishments in 2022. Furthermore, in the previous year, the business was ordered to pay a $21,000 settlement for failing to compensate for "several hundred cremations," as disclosed by attorney Lisa Epps from Wilbert Funeral Services crematory.
Through alleged deceit, financial misconduct, document falsification, and deceitful practices spanning four years, the Hallfords inflicted substantial harm on numerous grieving families.
Last year, a shocking discovery was made in the town of Penrose, approximately two hours south of Denver, where 190 bodies were found in a storage facility infested with insects. Some of the remains had been left unattended since 2019.
An investigation revealed that the Hallfords may have provided families with fake ashes and falsified cremation records. It seems that they falsely claimed that cremations were conducted by Wilbert Funeral Services on death certificates and provided ashes to families, even though Wilbert Funeral Services denied performing the cremations for the funeral home at the time.
Upon identification of decomposing bodies, families discovered that the ashes they had received did not belong to their loved ones. Court documents suggest that some of the ashes were actually dry concrete.
Concerns about the improper storage of bodies by the business date back to 2020, but regulators did not follow up on these concerns, allowing the number of bodies stored to increase to nearly 200 over the next three years.
Colorado's funeral home regulations are among the weakest in the nation. Operators in the state are not required to have a high school diploma, let alone any education in mortuary science or passing an exam.
The Hallfords case, along with other incidents in recent years, has prompted Colorado lawmakers to propose new legislation to enhance oversight and implement regulations that align with or exceed those of other states. These proposed bills are currently making their way through the state Legislature.
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