Colorado funeral home owner given 18-year sentence in decaying bodies case

<p>Carie Hallford, 48, whose husband Jon received 40-year term, pleaded guilty to defrauding grieving families</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/feb/17/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB">Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inbox</a></p></li></ul><p>A former Colorado funeral home owner who helped her ex-husband hide nearly 200 decomposing bodies in a building was sentenced Monday to 18 years on a federal fraud charge, nearly the maximum allowed under the law.</p><p>Carie Hallford, 48, faced 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. In two cases, investigators found the wrong body was buried. In August, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and admitted that she and her ex-husband Jon Hallford cheated customers and also defrauded the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in pandemic small business aid.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/mar/16/colorado-funeral-home-carie-hallford">Continue reading...</a>

Read the full article at: The Guardian World →