A Colorado couple appeared in court Monday on charges of defrauding funeral home customers, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced in a press release.
John Hallford, 44, and Carrie Hallford, 47, are facing multiple federal charges for allegedly defrauding funeral home customers and misusing COVID-19 relief funds. according to Send the money to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. The Hallfords, who operated Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, were charged with 13 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The couple made their first court appearance on April 15, 2024, before Judge Scott T. Verholak.
The incident was discovered in October 2023 when a resident reported a strange odor coming from the funeral home’s facilities. A subsequent FBI investigation found 190 bodies in various states of decomposition on the property, with some records indicating there were backlogged deaths dating back to 2019, the press release said. is stated. (Related: Mississippi funeral home placed wrong body in casket, family says)
Colorado funeral home owner found with nearly 200 decomposed bodies charged with coronavirus fraud https://t.co/CqZHh9eMsJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 15, 2024
The indictment alleges the Hallfords defrauded customers by failing to provide cremation and burial as promised. The two are also accused of fraudulently obtaining $882,300 in COVID-19 relief funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration. They allegedly provided false information about John’s child support arrears and falsely certified that there was no criminal activity in their business when applying. The funds were reportedly used for personal expenses instead of supporting business operations.
The CARES Act, enacted in March 2020, included Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) provisions to help Americans weather the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. The U.S. Small Business Administration administers these loans to support payroll and other business expenses, the press release added.
In response to widespread pandemic-related fraud, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to strengthen federal efforts to prosecute fraud and prevent abuse of relief programs. The purpose is to This ongoing investigation involves multiple state and local agencies, including the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and the Fremont County Coroner’s Office, under the supervision of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tim Neff and Craig Fansler. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said further updates will be provided as the case develops.
