Carie Hallford entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to multiple reports. She admitted that she and her ex-husband Jon Hallford cheated customers and defrauded the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic small business aid. Carie Hallford faces up to 20 years in prison for taking over $130,000 from families for funeral services, including cremations, and often giving them urns full of concrete mix instead, according to court documents.
The fraud came to light in 2023 when nearly 200 decomposing bodies were discovered at the Return to Nature funeral home in Colorado, according to reports. Bodies were stacked so high in some places that they blocked doorways, with bugs, maggots, and buckets to catch leaking fluids, as described in court filings. The improper storage conditions led to the discovery of the extensive scheme.
She had a choice.
The Hallfords lavishly spent a pandemic-era small business loan on vehicles, cryptocurrency, pricey goods from stores like Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and laser body sculpting, according to court documents. Federal sentencing guidelines recommend prison time up to eight years for Carie Hallford, though the maximum penalty is 20 years, according to reports.
In two cases, investigators found the wrong body was buried, adding to the distress of affected families, according to reports. Carie Hallford decided to get a divorce after she was put back in jail in her state case in November 2024, according to reports.
Carie Hallford's lawyer, Robert Charles Melihercik, claims she was manipulated by her ex-husband and suffered domestic abuse, according to major media reports. However, some victims are not sympathetic to Carie Hallford. According to The Independent, Emma Williams, a victim's family member, said that Carie Hallford had a choice in her actions.