On 27/6, Jon Hallford, 45, owner of the Return to Nature Funeral Home, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defrauding clients and misappropriating nearly 900,000 USD in federal Covid-19 relief funds.
Hallford pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court last year. He also pleaded guilty to 191 counts of abuse of a corpse and will be sentenced in state court in August.
Judge Nina Wang stated that although the case focused on a single count of fraud, the scale of the crime and the emotional harm to families warranted a harsher sentence. "This is not your typical fraud case," the judge said before imposing the maximum sentence of 20 years.
At the hearing, Hallford explained that he opened Return to Nature Funeral Home with the intention of making a positive impact on people's lives, "and then it just spiraled completely out of control, especially me." He expressed remorse and self-hatred for his actions.
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Jon (left) and Carie Hallford. Photo: Muskogee County Sheriff's Office |
Jon (left) and Carie Hallford. Photo: Muskogee County Sheriff's Office
Hallford and his wife, Carie Hallford, are accused of storing bodies from 2019 to 2023 and giving fake ashes to families. Residents reported a foul odor emanating from the facility, leading to a search.
According to records, police discovered bodies in various states of decomposition piled atop each other in an insect-infested building in the small town of Penrose in 2023. Many families then learned that their loved ones had not been cremated and the ashes they received were fake.
Many families reported experiencing shock, nightmares, and guilt. Among the victims who spoke at the sentencing hearing was a boy named Colton Sperry.
Colton told the judge about his beloved grandmother who died in 2019. Her body lay inside the Return to Nature Funeral Home for four years until it was discovered, causing Colton to become depressed. His parents took him to a hospital for a mental health evaluation and subsequent therapy. "I miss her so much," Colton tearfully told the judge.
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The Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, was demolished in 4/2024. Photo: KRDO |
The Return to Nature Funeral Home in Penrose, Colorado, was demolished in 4/2024. Photo: KRDO
Federal prosecutors accused the Hallfords of pandemic relief fraud, using the funds and client payments to purchase two cars totaling over 120,000 USD, along with 31,000 USD in cryptocurrency and luxury goods.
"While bodies were literally rotting, they were living it up. My mother's cremation money may have paid for a cocktail, a spa day, a first-class flight," Derrick Johnson, a client of the funeral home, told the court.
Carie Hallford, 48, is scheduled to appear in court in September in both federal and state court on similar charges.
Tue Anh (According to AP, Nypost)
