The owners of a Colorado funeral home are facing numerous charges from alleged COVID-19 pandemic fund fraud to abuse of corpses: EPA is currently demolishing the building and handling the clean-up

The indictment revealed that the federal offenses could result in severe consequences, including 20 years of imprisonment and fines of up to $250,000. These charges and allegations have caused even more distress for the families who entrusted their loved ones to the funeral home.

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The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado has made a significant announcement regarding Jon Hallford, aged 44, and Carie Hallford, aged 47. These individuals have been indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple charges. They are accused of defrauding their funeral home clients and also defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which is a crucial part of The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The charges against both Jon and Carie Hallford include 13 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

As per the indictment, the Hallfords were co-owners of the Return to Nature Funeral Home located in Penrose, Colorado. In October 2023, local residents reported a disturbing odor emanating from the Penrose facility. Following this, FBI investigators obtained a search warrant and made a shocking discovery. Inside the building, they found a staggering 190 dead bodies in various stages of decomposition. Shockingly, some of the bodies had dates of death dating back to 2019.

The indictment further alleges that the Hallfords deceived their funeral home customers by failing to fulfill their promises of providing cremation or burial services for the deceased individuals. This revelation has undoubtedly sent shockwaves through the community.

The Hallfords are accused of providing false information to the U.S. Small Business Administration to secure $882,300 in relief funds by misrepresenting key details. Additionally, they are charged with misusing the funds for personal expenses instead of business operations. The defendants appeared before Judge Scott T. Varholak on Monday, April 15, 2024.

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The indictment revealed that the federal offenses could result in severe consequences, including 20 years of imprisonment and fines of up to $250,000. These charges and allegations have caused even more distress for the families who entrusted their loved ones to the funeral home.

In a chilling incident that unfolded at Return to Nature Funeral Home, a horrifying revelation came to light in back in October. Disturbing reports of a repugnant odor emanating from a structure, located approximately 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Denver, led law enforcement officials to make a gruesome discovery.

Law enforcement agents took up the painstaking process of identifying the remains and informing families that their beloved ones were among the deceased individuals. Shockingly, some of these individuals were supposedly cremated and their ashes handed over to grieving relatives, only to be discovered years later.

“My mom’s last wish was for her remains to be scattered in a place she loved, not rotting away in a building,” said Tanya Wilson, who believes the ashes she spread in Hawaii in August were fake. “Any peace that we had, thinking that we honored her wishes, you know, was just completely ripped away from us.”

Wilson's family and a few others were provided with death certificates by Return to Nature, indicating that their relatives' remains had been processed by one of two crematories. However, the crematories mentioned on the certificates denied conducting any cremations for Return to Nature on the specified dates.

(AP) For Tanya Wilson, each new revelation about the case feels like a sudden shock. She had chosen Return to Nature to cremate her mother's remains, and together with her family, they scattered the ashes in Hawaii. However, after the horrifying discovery, Wilson learned that those ashes did not belong to her mother. Eventually, her mother's body was identified among the 190 decomposing bodies.

“I honestly feel like I have whiplash, and I can’t hold onto one emotion long enough to be able to process it,” Wilson said over the phone.(AP)

Just like Wilson, hundreds of other family members believed they had laid their loved ones to rest or held onto their ashes for comfort, only to have their healing process shattered.

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EPA contractors have successfully removed around 208 cubic yards of building materials off-site for disposal as of April 17th. Before the demolition and loading process, the materials were treated with disinfectant. This week, EPA will continue transferring materials off-site. Once the building materials are gone, the contractors will proceed to remove the concrete foundation of the building. The demolition will be overseen by EPA’s Emergency Response team and their trained hazardous materials contractors.

EPA, CDPHE, and Fremont County are all in agreement that there is no health risk to the public due to the safety measures in place for the demolition, transportation, and disposal. The health and safety protocols implemented for this removal action are strict and thorough to ensure the protection of both workers and the community, as well as the environment.

Throughout the removal process, disinfectant will be used inside the building before and during demolition. EPA will also utilize water and other liquid solutions to suppress dust, ensuring that no contamination runoff occurs from the building to the surrounding ground. Ground crews will carefully manage the building materials during loading into dump trucks to guarantee efficiency and protection. These materials will be handled and loaded following all regulations and landfill requirements. After the building and concrete foundation are gone, EPA will conduct a surface scrape of the soils on the building's footprint before transporting them to the landfill using the same process as the building materials.

Even before the unsealing of the new indictment, public records had already shown that the Hallfords were burdened by debt. They faced evictions and lawsuits due to unpaid cremations, all while indulging in extravagant spending for themselves.

Court documents recently revealed that the Hallfords splurged on a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti, totaling over $120,000. This amount could have covered cremation costs for all the bodies found in their facility twice over. FBI Agent Andrew Cohen testified about this during a previous court session.

In addition to the expensive vehicles, the Hallfords also spent money on trips to California, Florida, and Las Vegas. They also used funds for $31,000 in cryptocurrency, laser body sculpting, and shopping sprees at luxury stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., as detailed in the court records.

The storage building in Penrose, where 190 bodies were discovered, was infested with bugs. Some of the remains had been there since 2019, highlighting the disturbing nature of the case.

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FBI Agent Cohen remarked during a court hearing, “The floor looks like something you’d like to forget but can’t.”

Fox21news reported that the funeral home's once pristine white/cream-colored floor was now a disturbing mix of brown and red stains from bodily fluids. To prevent accidents, investigators had to lay down cardboard all over the building. While some rooms appeared to have black carpet with brown patches, it turned out that the black specks were actually insects.

Agent Cohen, an FBI agent, uncovered that the consequences of the failed cremations reached further than expected. The funeral home had been responsible for laying a veteran to rest at the Pikes Peak National Cemetery. Upon opening the casket of the veteran, who had dedicated 20 years to the U.S. Army, investigators were shocked to find the body of a woman wrapped in plastic bags and duct tape.

During the hearing (Fox21news), texts between Carie and her husband/co-owner Jon Hallford were revealed, wherein they casually discussed the bodies at Penrose Funeral Home. One text from Jon said, “I want to take a shower… While I was making a transfer I got people juice on me…” then proceeded to talk about his burger order within the same text—a juxtaposition that family members found inhumane.

Agent Cohen analyzed surveillance footage which revealed the couple's arrival at the funeral home in September 2023. Jon was captured wheeling in a cart loaded with at least four plastic bags, suspected to hold bodies. Their text messages unveiled financial difficulties and conversations regarding the escalating problems at Penrose Funeral Home..

(Fox21news )In one text, Jon gives Carie options on what they can do, “Build a new machine… dig a big hole… dig a small hole and make a large fire… I go to prison, which is probably going to happen…”

Note* the charges in the indictment are just allegations, and the defendants are innocent until proven guilty.

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