Denver, Colorado — A US federal judge has sentenced a Colorado funeral home owner to 20 years in prison after authorities discovered he had secretly stored 191 human bodies at his facility while defrauding grieving families and the federal government.
Jon Hallford, owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, was handed the maximum sentence of 240 months by US District Judge Nina Wang during Friday’s court hearing.
Describing the case as far beyond ordinary fraud, Judge Wang cited the appalling scale of Hallford’s crimes and the profound emotional harm caused to families.
“This is not an ordinary fraud case,” Wang remarked, calling the offences “disturbing and unparalleled.”
The scandal came to light in 2023 when residents reported a foul odour coming from the funeral home, located roughly 100 miles south of Denver. Investigators who entered the dilapidated, insect-infested building were confronted by a horrific scene — bodies stacked on top of each other, rooms so full of remains they were inaccessible, and bodily fluids pooling on the floor.
FBI agents had to lay down wooden boards to walk through the facility.
Further investigations revealed Hallford and his wife, Carie Hallford, had been deceiving families for years, sending them urns filled with dry concrete mix instead of their loved ones’ ashes. In at least two cases, the wrong body was buried.
Hallford has also pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse in state court, with sentencing for those charges expected in August. His wife faces similar state charges and will stand trial in the federal case in September.
In addition to mishandling human remains, Jon Hallford was convicted of defrauding the US government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 relief funds meant to help struggling businesses.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, the Hallfords submitted fraudulent loan applications to the Small Business Administration, siphoning the money to fund lavish lifestyles. They spent the ill-gotten gains — along with payments from bereaved families — on luxury SUVs worth over $120,000, high-end items from Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and cryptocurrency.
Hallford was also ordered to pay $1.07 million in restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, alongside the 20-year prison term.
The District of Colorado described the case as a grave betrayal of trust:
“Instead of ensuring proper disposition of the remains, Hallford allowed bodies to accumulate in various states of decay and decomposition inside the funeral home’s facility,” the statement read.
During sentencing, Hallford told the court he opened Return to Nature Funeral Home with good intentions, but admitted to losing control.
“I am so deeply sorry for my actions. I still hate myself for what I’ve done,” he told the judge.
Authorities suspended the funeral home’s license following the gruesome discovery, after Hallford initially claimed the property was used for taxidermy.
The case has shocked the nation and raised concerns over regulatory gaps in the funeral services industry.
By Were Kelly
