Denver, CO — Carie Hallford, co-owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a case that has horrified families across Colorado and beyond. The charges stem from a scheme involving nearly 200 decomposing bodies and more than $900,000 in federal fraud.
Bodies Left to Rot While Customers Were Lied To
Between 2019 and 2023, Carie and her husband Jon Hallford took payments from grieving families for cremation and burial services — then failed to carry them out. Instead of properly handling the bodies, the couple stored them in an unrefrigerated building in Penrose, about two hours south of Denver.
Some families were given dry concrete in urns instead of ashes, federal investigators said.
Outside the courthouse Monday, Crystina Page, whose son David died in 2019 and was left in an inoperable refrigerator for four years, said the plea deal leaves too many questions unanswered.
“We still don’t know the truth of what they’ve done to us,” she said. “It’s like they’re escaping a full trial.”
Federal and State Charges Reveal Disturbing Patterns
The federal case accuses the Hallfords of two distinct fraud schemes:
- Pandemic Relief Fraud – The couple allegedly falsified documents to obtain nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 relief funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
- Funeral Scam – They collected over $130,000 from families for cremation or burial services, which they never performed.
Instead, the funds were used on luxury items, including:
- A GMC Yukon SUV
- Laser body sculpting treatments
- Jewelry
- Vacations
- Cryptocurrency
The state case charges both Hallfords with 191 counts of corpse abuse, including for burying the wrong body on multiple occasions.
In 2023, authorities discovered the decomposing remains stacked in a dilapidated building, infested with maggots, insects, and a pool of bodily fluids that required pumping from the floor.
Jon Hallford has already pleaded guilty to both state and federal charges. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Carie Hallford Faces 15 Years — Pending Judge’s Approval
Though Carie Hallford faces up to 20 years, prosecutors have agreed to recommend 15 years under the current plea deal. However, the judge must still approve the agreement. A previous plea deal was rejected last year.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for December.
A Community Still Searching for Closure
The discovery of the Penrose facility and the extent of the deception have left hundreds of families traumatized. Many believed they had scattered their loved ones’ ashes — only to later learn those remains were left to decay.
“This wasn’t just fraud. It was the violation of the most sacred trust people place in others,” said one victim’s relative. “They exploited grief and profited off it.”
As the legal proceedings draw to a close, many families say their grief is compounded by the unanswered questions, and the fact that a public trial may never happen.
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