Carie Hallford, 48, was found to have issued concrete-filled urns instead of the actual ashes of family members from their funeral home in Penrose, about 105 miles south of Denver
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A funeral home owner will spend 18 years behind bars after giving grieving families fake ashes, while leaving the bodies of their loved ones to decay.
Carie Hallford, 48, was found to have issued concrete-filled urns instead of the actual ashes of family members from their funeral home in Penrose, about 105 miles south of Denver.
She ran the bogus service alongside her husband Jon Hallford and had taken $130,000 (£98,200) in funeral expenses from customers to fund it.
Their sick scheme unravelled after nearly 200 decaying bodies were reportedly found improperly stored at their Return Nature Funeral Home.
Prosecutors say Hallford "mishandled at least 190 bodies" after she was arrested in 2023 alongside her husband.
It also emerged that the couple had used government business loans to splash out on high-end cars, cryptocurrency purchases and fancy clothing brands such as Gucci and Tiffany & Co.
The funeral home boss pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, as well as admitting to deceiving customers and the US government.
Peter McNeilly, the US Attorney for the District of Colorado, said in court: "Their disregard for fundamental human dignity is almost beyond belief.
"I hope the victims take some solace in the serious sentences handed down to both Hallfords. This case doesn’t right the wrongs the victims have suffered, but it does stand as an unequivocal condemnation of the Hallfords’ horrific criminal conduct."
Amanda Koldjeski, the FBI special agent in charge of the incident, said Carie "defrauded grieving families she agreed to serve while deceiving the federal government in order to obtain benefits meant to assist businesses during the pandemic."
"She denied families well-deserved dignity and showed blatant disregard for government rules," Agent Koldjeski added.
"She lied and exploited families and systems to enrich her lifestyle with absolutely zero regard for the great harm she caused to so many."
Hallford is due to be sentenced on April 24, according to the New York Times.
The defendant has been ordered to pay $1.07million (£815,000), in restitution with three years of supervised release.
A press release from the the District of Colorado from the US Attorney's Office said: "The plea agreement further states that Carie Hallford handled much of the banking, invoicing, contracting with customers, filing of required paperwork, bookkeeping and communications with customers.
"Both defendants routinely prepared death certificates for the deceased and then filed those certificates with the State of Colorado’s Electronic Death Registry."
