Carie Hallford, 48, of Colorado Springs, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a case involving Return to Nature Funeral Home, which she operated with her husband Jon Hallford. According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, the couple mishandled at least 190 bodies over four years and defrauded the Small Business Administration (SBA) through fraudulent COVID-19 loan applications.
Jon Hallford was previously sentenced in June to 240 months in federal prison and ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution for his involvement in the scheme.
Court documents show that from September 2019 through October 2023, Carie and Jon Hallford failed to cremate or bury at least 190 bodies despite collecting more than $130,000 from families for funeral services that were not provided. The plea agreement states they continued accepting payments while failing to perform cremations or burials as promised.
Carie Hallford managed banking, invoicing, customer contracts, paperwork filings, bookkeeping, and communication with customers. Both defendants prepared and filed death certificates with the State of Colorado’s Electronic Death Registry. On many certificates for bodies found at their Penrose location, they falsely claimed remains had been disposed of by cremation or burial when they had not; instead, bodies were left decomposing on site.
To execute their fraud scheme, Carie and Jon Hallford caused multiple interstate wire communications. From March 2020 to March 2022, they conspired to defraud the SBA by submitting false loan applications for COVID-19 relief funds. This resulted in three separate disbursements totaling $882,300 from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The EIDL program was established during the pandemic to support businesses affected by COVID-19 (https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/eidl/covid-19-eidl).
On October 5, 2023, officials searched the Penrose location and discovered numerous decomposing human remains in hazardous conditions. The building posed significant health risks requiring first responders to use hazmat suits and follow strict decontamination protocols. The Environmental Protection Agency condemned and demolished the facility after classifying it as a toxic waste site (https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-begins-cleanup-response-following-discovery-human-remains-colorado-funeral-home).
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 to provide emergency financial assistance due to economic impacts from COVID-19. It created several programs administered by the SBA—including PPP loans—to help small businesses retain workers and cover expenses (https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/coronavirus/about-the-cares-act). Federal programs also expanded unemployment benefit eligibility during this period.
United States District Judge Nina Y. Wang presided over Carie Hallford’s hearing; sentencing is set for December 3, 2025.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Denver Field Office and SBA Office of Inspector General with support from state and local agencies including the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and various law enforcement departments. Assistant United States Attorneys Tim Neff and Craig Fansler are prosecuting the case.
Case Number: 1:24-cr-00113-NYW
