A federal judge has canceled the October trial date in a fraud case involving the owners of a Colorado funeral home where authorities discovered 190 decaying bodies. The owners, Jon and Carie Hallford, were indicted in April on fraud charges for allegedly misspending nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds on personal expenses such as vacations and jewelry. The Hallfords own the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs and Penrose, where the bodies were found.
The indictment accuses the Hallfords of providing families with dry concrete instead of cremated ashes and burying the wrong body on two occasions. Additionally, they allegedly accepted over $130,000 from families for cremation and burial services that were never provided. These 15 federal charges are separate from the more than 200 criminal counts the Hallfords face in state court for offenses including corpse abuse, money laundering, theft, and forgery.
Carie Hallford submitted a statement to the court indicating that a resolution has been reached in the case and requested a change-of-plea hearing. Jon Hallford also requested a hearing for the court to review the proposed plea agreement. As a result, the judge has granted their request to cancel the trial date set for October 15 and all related dates and deadlines. The change-of-plea hearings have been scheduled for October 24.
