Carie Hallford, 49, of Colorado Springs was sentenced on Mar. 16 to 18 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Hallford owned and operated Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs and Penrose with her then husband, Jon Hallford. The case is significant due to the scale of harm caused: at least 190 bodies were mishandled over four years, and families were defrauded out of more than $130,000 for funeral services that were never provided. In addition, the Hallfords submitted fraudulent COVID-19 loan applications and received $882,300 from the Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
According to the plea agreement, from September 2019 through October 2023, Carie and Jon Hallford failed to cremate or bury at least 190 bodies despite collecting payment from grieving families. They also falsely reported cremations or burials on death certificates filed with the State of Colorado’s Electronic Death Registry while leaving remains decomposing at their Penrose location. The fraud scheme involved multiple interstate wire communications.
The investigation revealed that between March 2020 and March 2022, the couple conspired to defraud the SBA by submitting false information on loan applications intended for businesses affected by the pandemic. On October 5, 2023, authorities discovered decomposing human remains in hazardous conditions at the Penrose facility. The building was later condemned as a toxic waste site by the Environmental Protection Agency.
United States Attorney for the District of Colorado Peter McNeilly said: “It takes an exceptionally sick person to even think of a fraud scheme like Jon and Carie Hallford’s, let alone carry it out. 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 Amanda Koldjeski said: “The defendant 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 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.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Colorado leads one of five national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams focused on large-scale pandemic relief fraud cases involving criminal organizations or repeated offenses. United States District Judge Nina Y. Wang presided over sentencing.
The FBI Denver Field Office and U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General led investigations with support from state agencies including Colorado Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement.
