A Colorado Springs couple, Jon and Carie Hallford, who owned the Back to Nature Funeral Home, are facing additional charges after allegedly spending over $880,000 in COVID relief funds on personal expenses such as vacations and cosmetic surgery. The couple had been facing 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, five counts of theft, four counts of money laundering, and over 50 counts of forgery. An indictment alleges that they used the relief funds to buy items for themselves, including cars, dinners, cryptocurrency, and tuition for their child. The 15 federal offenses carry potential penalties of 20 years in prison and fines of $250,000.
In details revealed in court documents, the Hallfords used the money from the relief funds to purchase a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti worth over $120,000, as well as taking trips to California, Florida, and Las Vegas. They also allegedly bought $31,000 in cryptocurrency, shopped at luxury retailers like Tiffany & Co. and Gucci, and paid for laser body sculpting. FBI agent Andrew Cohen testified that the money used to buy the Yukon was obtained fraudulently after Jon lied about his child support payments. Additionally, the couple is accused of presenting families with dry concrete instead of cremated ashes and burying the wrong body on two occasions. They collected over $130,000 from families for cremation and burial services that were never carried out.
The Hallfords were arrested in November 2023 after an investigation that began in October when 190 bodies were found in a building in a rural community used as a body storage facility. The bodies were discovered in a building with makeshift refrigeration units that were not operational. Text messages presented in court suggested that the couple tried to cover up financial difficulties by leaving the bodies at the building. Jon Hallford was allegedly concerned about getting caught as early as 2020 and suggested disposing of the bodies by dumping them in a hole, treating them with lye, or setting them on fire. Prosecutors have charged the couple with multiple offenses related to their actions.
The Hallfords fraudulently obtained three loans between March 2020 and October 2021, using the money for personal expenses instead of fulfilling their obligations to families who had paid for cremation and burial services. Prosecutors allege that they presented families with dry concrete instead of cremated ashes and buried the wrong body on two occasions. In February, FBI agent Cohen testified about the fraudulent actions taken by the couple, including misrepresenting the purpose of the funds received as a pandemic-era small business loan. The indictment lists multiple federal offenses with potential prison sentences of up to 20 years and fines of $250,000 for each count.
The couple faces charges related to the abandonment of nearly 200 bodies in a building infested with maggots and flies, in addition to using relief funds for personal expenses. The Hallfords are accused of deceiving families, collecting money for services they did not provide, and making false representations to obtain loans. The federal offenses carry severe penalties, and the couple’s actions have caused distress to the families affected by their fraudulent behavior. The investigation into the Hallfords’ actions began in October when the bodies were discovered in the rural community building, leading to their arrest in November. Text messages presented in court suggest a pattern of deception and attempts to conceal their financial difficulties by illegal means.
