Carie Hallford and her ex-husband Jon left hundreds of bodies to decay after being fund improperly stored at a funeral home and were found to have brazenly spent pandemic aid on designer brands
A disgraced funeral home boss gave grieving families fake ashes and hid the bodies of their loved ones.
Ex-funeral home owner Carie Hallford was sentenced on a fraud charge after it was found she issued urns containing concrete mix instead of actual ashes of family members. The court determined on Monday Hallford, 48, had taken $130,000 (£98,200) in funeral expenses from customers for the bogus service.
Hallford was sentenced to 18 years in prison. It was found she acted in the fraudulent scheme along with her former husband Jon Hallford. She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and she admitted to have deceived customers as well as the federal government.
Jon Hallford was in a relationship with Carie (Image: AP)
The fraud also covers $900,000 in COVID-19 pandemic aid for small businesses. Peter McNeilly, the US Attorney for the District of Colorado, said in court: “Their disregard for fundamental human dignity is almost beyond belief.
“I hope the victims take some solace in the serious sentences handed down to both Hallfords. 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.”
FBI Denver special agent in charge of the incident Amanda Koldjeski said Carie “defrauded grieving families she agreed to serve while deceiving the federal government in order to obtain benefits meant to assist businesses during the pandemic.” She continued: “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.” It emerged the couple neglected to use the government loans for the business.
Instead they spent the money on high-end cars, cryptocurrency purchases and fancy clothing brands such as Gucci and Tiffany & Co. Hallford is due to be sentenced on the state charges on April 24, according to the New York Times.
The funeral home owner reportedly misused pandemic aid money(Image: cbsnews)
Hallford has been ordered to pay $1.07million (£815,000) in restitution with three years of supervised release. She “mishandled at least 190 bodies,” according to the District of Colorado from the US Attorney’s Office.
Its press release said: “The plea agreement further states that Carie Hallford handled much of the banking, invoicing, contracting with customers, filing of required paperwork, bookkeeping and communications with customers. Both defendants routinely prepared death certificates for the deceased and then filed those certificates with the State of Colorado’s Electronic Death Registry.”