Owners of a Colorado funeral home where 190 decaying bodies were found are charged with COVID fraud

By Jesse Bedayn And Colleen Slevin, The Associated Press on April 15, 2024.

DENVER (AP) – The couple who owned a Colorado funeral home – where 190 decaying bodies were discovered last year – have been indicted on federal charges for fraudulently obtaining nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds from the U.S. government, according to court documents unsealed Monday.

The new federal charges against Jon and Carie Hallford add to charges in Colorado state court for abusing corpses.

The Hallfords’ attorneys didn’t immediately return phone messages and emails from the Associated Press. The couple have not yet entered pleas to the state’s abuse of corpse charges.

Even before the new indictment was unsealed, public records revealed that the Hallfords had been plagued by debt, facing evictions and lawsuits for unpaid cremations even as they spent lavishly and received more than $123,300 in Small Business Administration loans for COVID-19 relief, according to U.S. government data. They also got a $15,000 grant in pandemic relief, according to federal data.

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