Consumer Fraud and Public Safety

Jon and Carie Hallford pleaded guilty in December to nearly 200 counts of corpse abuse after investigators found 189 decaying bodies stacked at room temperature in their Penrose funeral home, with swarms of insects, decomposition fluids on floors and evidence families were given dry concrete instead of ashes. They face long prison terms at an April 24 hearing — Jon Hallford 30–50 years and Carie Hallford 25–35 years — after a judge rejected lighter plea deals as too lenient; prosecutors also say the pair fraudulently obtained nearly $900,000 in pandemic small‑business aid, and Jon, who previously served a 20‑year federal sentence, told the court “everything got completely out of control, especially me.”