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For years, Carie Hallford, a former funeral home owner, alongside her ex-husband Jon Hallford, deceived mourning families by providing counterfeit ashes, exploiting their vulnerability during times of grief.
Recently, Carie, aged 49, received a federal prison sentence of 216 months and was ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution after admitting to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. This judgment was announced by the United States Attorney’s Office on March 16.
“It takes an exceptionally sick person to even think of a fraud scheme like Jon and Carie Hallford’s, let alone carry it out,” stated Peter McNeilly, the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, following the sentencing. “Their disregard for fundamental human dignity is almost beyond belief,” he added.
Carie Hallford and Jon Hallford Failed to Properly Dispose of Remains
According to Carie’s plea agreement, the couple swindled over $130,000 from bereaved families, promising funeral services at the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs. However, they failed to cremate or properly bury at least 190 bodies, leaving the remains to decompose within the funeral home, as detailed by prosecutors.
In some of the most shocking instances, families received urns filled with dry concrete mix instead of their loved ones’ remains. This was highlighted in a June statement from federal prosecutors, which also announced Jon’s 20-year sentence for his role in the conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
“Instead of ensuring proper disposition of the remains, [Jon] Hallford allowed bodies to accumulate in various states of decay and decomposition inside the funeral home’s facility,” prosecutors said at the time. “He took steps to hide the nature of his activities by blocking windows and doors, restricting access to the building, and offering false explanations for the foul odor coming from the site.”
When federal authorities descended on the site’s Penrose location on Oct. 5, 2023 they were forced to wear hazmat suits and follow “strict decontamination protocols” as a result of the “toxic environment,” according to the March 16 statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The EPA later condemned and demolished the building,” they added, “classifying it as a toxic waste site.”
Prosecutors said the couple operated the scheme from September 2019 through October 2023, with Carie handling much of the banking, invoicing, bookkeeping and customer interactions.
Each routinely prepared death certificates, prosecutors said, often falsely reported the “method of disposition” as cremation or burial even though the bodies had been left to decompose.
“I hope the victims take some solace in the serious sentences handed down to both Hallfords,” McNeilly continued in the March 16 statement. “This case doesn’t right the wrongs the victims have suffered, but it does stand as an unequivocal condemnation of the Hallfords’ horrific criminal conduct.”
The Hallfords Submitted Fraudulent COVID-19 Loan Applications
Carie also admitted in the plea agreement to conspiring with her husband to defraud the Small Business Administration through fraudulent COVID-19 loan applications—totaling $882,300— from March 2020 to March 2022. The couple reportedly submitted false information to secure the relief funds created at the time to help struggling businesses through the pandemic.
They reportedly used the money to purchase cryptocurrency, vehicles and luxury items from Gucci and Tiffany & Co., according to The Associated Press.
“The defendant defrauded grieving families she agreed to serve while deceiving the federal government in order to obtain benefits meant to assist businesses during the pandemic,” FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Amanda Koldjeski said in the statement. “She denied families well deserved dignity and showed blatant disregard for government rules. She lied and exploited families and systems to enrich her lifestyle with absolutely zero regard for the great harm she caused to so many.”
Her prosecution was led by one of five national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams created through the U.S. Attorney’s Office to combat pandemic relief fraud.
Carie Hallford Asked For Leniency, While Victims’ Families Reveal “Trauma”
Before her sentence was handed down, Carie asked for leniency, according to The Associated Press. While addressing U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang, she blamed her actions on alleged abuse and manipulation she said she suffered during her marriage, telling the judge “I was always trying to please a person who was impossible to please.”
Adam Steigerwald—the attorney who represented Jon on state-level charges—declined to comment on the abuse allegations to The Associated Press. also reached out to Steigerwald, but did not receive an immediate response.
Although Wang agreed that text messages between the couple showed that Jon often belittled her, the judge didn’t believe it excused her actions. The families of the victims also urged the judge to impose the maximum sentence.
Elizabeth Gannon testified, per the news outlet, that she still suffered “ongoing trauma” after using the funeral home in 2022 and 2023 to handle the deaths of both of her parents.
“She chose to take our money and our loved ones’ remains,” she said, “knowing exactly what Jon intended to do with the bodies.”
The former couple also pleaded guilty in state court in December to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse and could face additional prison time after being sentenced on those charges.
For Carie, that could mean a state-level sentence between 25 to 35 years in prison, The Associated Press reported.
As part of their plea deals, their state and federal sentences will be served concurrently.