A Colorado funeral home owner was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Friday for what prosecutors described as a grotesque and calculated fraud — one that involved secretly storing nearly 190 decaying bodies and handing out fake ashes to grieving families.
Jon Hallford, who ran the now-infamous Return to Nature Funeral Home, also defrauded the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 relief funds. Though prosecutors had asked for a 15-year sentence and the defense pleaded for 10, U.S. District Judge Nina Wang delivered the maximum sentence, calling it anything but a typical fraud case.
“This is not an ordinary fraud case,” Judge Wang said.
“I Still Hate Myself for What I’ve Done”
In court, a remorseful Hallford expressed regret, telling families, “I am so deeply sorry for my actions. I still hate myself for what I’ve done.” But the damage was already done — and the courtroom was filled with heartbreak and outrage.
One of the most emotional moments came from Colton Sperry, a young boy who testified about the heartbreak of losing his grandmother in 2019, only to find out four years later that her body had never been cremated. Instead, it had been left to rot in the funeral home’s decaying, bug-infested building in Penrose, Colorado.
“I miss my grandma so much,” Colton said through tears, explaining that the trauma sent him into deep depression and resulted in hospitalization.
A Shocking Scene in Penrose
Authorities made the gruesome discovery in 2023 — 190 corpses crammed inside a repulsive facility two hours south of Denver. Families were left stunned to learn the ashes they had received were often fake, and in some cases, the wrong bodies had been buried.
Victims described being haunted by guilt, betrayal, and disbelief.
“My mom’s cremation money probably paid for a cocktail, a day at the spa, a first-class flight,” said Derrick Johnson, who flew 3,000 miles to testify. “Her body was thrown into a festering sea of death.”
Living in Luxury on Stolen Funds
While families mourned and trusted Hallford to handle their loved ones with care, he and his wife Carie Hallford lived lavishly. The couple used federal relief funds and stolen cremation payments to buy luxury cars, Gucci and Tiffany jewelry, spend $31,000 on cryptocurrency, and undergo cosmetic procedures like laser body sculpting.
Federal agents revealed they had to walk on wooden planks through the facility due to decomposing fluids. At one point, they had to drain the building just to continue the investigation.
State Charges and More Legal Fallout
In addition to Friday’s sentencing, Hallford has pleaded guilty to 191 state counts of abuse of a corpse, with sentencing on those charges scheduled for August. His wife, Carie, faces a federal trial in September and the same 191 state charges.
This case has sparked widespread public outrage and prompted renewed calls for tighter regulation of the funeral industry, including mandatory inspections and stronger licensing standards.
“Equity and trust were violated in the most horrific way imaginable,” said one advocate. “This must never be allowed to happen again.”
As families seek justice and healing, the case stands as one of the most disturbing abuses of trust in recent memory — a reminder of the importance of both compassion and accountability in the most vulnerable moments of life.
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