A Colorado couple who owned a funeral home were indicted on federal charges for misspending nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds on personal expenses. The Hallfords also faced accusations of giving families dry concrete instead of cremated ashes and burying the wrong body on two occasions. They collected over $130,000 for services they never provided and are already facing more than 200 criminal counts in state court for corpse abuse, money laundering, theft, and forgery. The federal charges carry potential penalties of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines.
The Hallfords appeared in federal court where prosecutors argued they were a flight risk, citing their prior escape to Oklahoma before being arrested on state charges. The couple did not immediately decide if they should be released pending trial. They had faced financial troubles, including evictions and unpaid bills, while spending extravagantly on themselves. The indictment revealed that they used relief funds for vacations, cosmetic surgery, jewelry, and cryptocurrency. The couple had bought luxury cars and made trips to California, Florida, and Las Vegas among other expenses.
The Hallfords have not yet entered pleas to the state charges and their attorneys declined to comment on the federal indictment. The funeral home’s business practices had raised concerns as far back as 2020, but no action was taken by regulators as the collection of bodies continued to grow. Families who had done business with the funeral home were devastated to learn that they had likely received fake ashes and fabricated cremation records. The couple’s alleged lies and manipulation caused grief for hundreds of family members, with some remains languishing in storage for years.
The couple’s business, Return to Nature Funeral Home, faced financial troubles and lawsuits for unpaid services even as they spent lavishly on themselves. They claimed to a former landlord that they would settle their rent once they were paid for work with FEMA during the pandemic. However, FEMA confirmed they had no contracts with the funeral home. The Hallfords left behind a trail of unpaid bills, disgruntled landlords, and unresolved disputes. Families discovered that the ashes they received could not have been the remains of their loved ones as the true extent of the Hallfords’ deception came to light.
The discovery of 190 decaying bodies in a storage building in Penrose, Colorado, brought attention to the Hallfords’ fraudulent practices. An investigation found that the couple likely sent fake ashes and fake cremation records to families, claiming the cremations were performed by another funeral service that denied involvement. The Hallfords’ actions over the past four years have devastated grieving family members. Colorado lawmakers have since introduced legislation to strengthen oversight of funeral homes, which currently have weak regulations compared to other states. The Hallfords’ case has prompted calls for stricter rules to prevent such tragedies in the future.
