A Colorado funeral home owner, Jon Hallford, faced the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison after storing nearly 190 decomposing bodies in a dilapidated building and providing grieving families with counterfeit ashes. Hallford, who owned Return to Nature Funeral Home, admitted to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, resulting in approximately $900,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 relief funds. Additionally, he has pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse, with his sentencing in state court set for August.
During a recent hearing, federal prosecutors recommended a 15-year sentence, while Hallford’s attorney requested just 10 years. However, Judge Nina Wang deemed the case’s emotional toll on families warranted the maximum sentence, stating, “This is not an ordinary fraud case.” Hallford expressed remorse in court, admitting that he wanted to positively impact people’s lives but lost control along the way.
Investigations uncovered that the Hallfords had improperly disposed of bodies and misled families from 2019 to 2023. Reports revealed chilling conditions of the building in Penrose, Colorado – bodies stored haphazardly, raising concerns among families about the fate of their loved ones. Some families discovered that the ashes they believed to be real were, in fact, fake. The ordeal caused significant emotional distress, with relatives recounting nightmares and feelings of guilt.
Victims voiced their anguish at the sentencing, including a boy named Colton Sperry, who shared the heartbreak of discovering that his grandmother’s body had been improperly handled. His traumatic experience led him to seek mental health assistance. Derrick Johnson described the horror of his mother being stored “in a festering sea of death,” expressing anguish over the misuse of funeral funds for the Hallfords’ lavish lifestyle, which included luxury items and trips.
Hallford’s attorney requested leniency, acknowledging his client’s recognition of wrongdoing, but Judge Wang prioritised the severity of the case and its impact on the victims. His wife, Carie Hallford, faces a separate trial in September for her role in the fraud, which includes the same charges of corpse abuse.
The unsettling details of this case have shaken many communities, highlighting the profound impact of funeral industry trust and the devastating consequences when that trust is broken.