Hearing on change of plea set in fraud case for owners of funeral home where 190 bodies were found

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge has canceled an October trial and scheduled a hearing for a plea change in a fraud case involving the owners of a Colorado funeral home where authorities found 190 decomposing bodies.

Jon and Carie Hallford were indicted in April on fraud charges, accused of embezzling nearly $900,000 in pandemic relief funds for vacations, jewelry and other personal expenses. They own the Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado Springs and in Penrose, where the bodies were found.

The lawsuit alleges the Hallfords gave families dry concrete instead of cremated ashes and that they buried the wrong body twice. The couple also allegedly collected more than $130,000 from families for cremation and burial services they never provided.

The 15 indictments returned by the federal grand jury are separate from the more than 200 criminal charges pending in state court against the Hallfords for corpse abuse, money laundering, theft and forgery.

Carie Hallford filed a statement with the court on Thursday saying that “a settlement has been reached in the instant case” and asking for a hearing on the change of plea. Jon Hallford’s motion said he wanted a hearing “before the court to consider the proposed plea agreement.”

The judge granted their request to remove the October 15 trial date and all related dates and deadlines. The change of plea hearings were set for October 24.

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