Carie Hallford, a former Colorado funeral home owner, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for her role in defrauding families and hiding nearly 200 decomposing bodies. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang, is nearly the maximum allowed under federal law.
Key Takeaways
Carie Hallford, a former Colorado funeral home owner, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for defrauding families and hiding nearly 200 decomposing bodies. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after taking over $130,000 from families for fake cremations.
- Carie Hallford sentenced to 18 years in federal prison
- Nearly 200 decomposing bodies found at Return to Nature Funeral Home
- Hallford and ex-husband defrauded families of $130,000 and government of nearly $900,000
- Victims described ongoing trauma from the fraudulent cremations
- Prosecutors highlighted lavish spending on luxury goods with pandemic aid money
Hallford, 48, faced up to 20 years in prison for taking over $130,000 from families for funeral services, including cremations, and often giving them urns filled with concrete mix instead. In two cases, investigators found the wrong body was buried. She pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and admitted that she and her ex-husband Jon Hallford cheated customers and defrauded the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic small business aid.
During Monday’s hearing, victims shared their ongoing trauma and rejected Hallford’s claim that fear and domestic abuse motivated her to participate in the scam. Kelly Schloesser apologized to her mother for not taking better care of her, stating that Hallford took her money instead of caring for her mother. Elizabeth Gannon described experiencing “ongoing trauma” over trusting the Hallfords with both of her parents’ end-of-life arrangements.
Prosecutors pushed for a longer sentence due to the couple’s lavish spending of a pandemic-era small business loan on vehicles, cryptocurrency, luxury goods from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and laser body sculpting. Hallford's lawyer argued that her actions were motivated by fear and severe anxiety, claiming she was controlled through classic instruments of domestic violence.
The bodies found at the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, were stacked so high in some places that they blocked doorways. There were bugs and maggots, with buckets placed to catch leaking fluids. The discovery is considered one of the largest cases of decaying bodies at a funeral home in U.S. history.
Hallford is also facing 25 to 35 years in prison when she is sentenced in state court on related charges next month. Jon Hallford, her ex-husband, was sentenced to 20 years in the federal case and 40 years in the state case. Both plea deals require their state and federal sentences to be served simultaneously.
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