A couple already accused of storing 190 decaying bodies at their Colorado funeral home now face federal charges for misspending nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds. Jon and Carie Hallford were indicted on 15 federal counts, including fraud, after allegedly using the money on luxury cars, holidays, cosmetic surgery, and jewellery.
The indictment, unsealed on Monday, alleges the Hallfords obtained three loans between March 2020 and October 2021 and spent the funds on a GMC Yukon, an Infiniti, trips to California, Florida, and Las Vegas, as well as $31,000 on cosmetic surgery and purchases from Gucci and Tiffany. They also paid for tuition and cryptocurrency.
In addition to the federal charges, the couple face more than 200 state counts for corpse abuse, money laundering, theft, and forgery. State prosecutors accuse them of giving families dry concrete instead of cremated ashes and burying the wrong body on two occasions. They also collected over $130,000 for services never provided.
The Hallfords appeared in court on Monday, where prosecutors argued they were a flight risk after allegedly fleeing to Oklahoma when the bodies were discovered last October. A judge will decide on their detention at a hearing on Thursday.
If convicted on the federal charges, they face up to 20 years in prison and fines of $250,000.
