GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — A Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving shoppers faux ashes has pleaded guilty to mail fraud in federal court docket.
The Daily Sentinel reports that Megan Hess faces a most sentence of 20 years in jail after coming into the plea Tuesday in Grand Junction. Other fees towards Hess can be dropped below a plea settlement, the Sentinel stated.
Hess, 45, and her mom, Shirley Koch, operated the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in Montrose. They have been arrested in 2020 and charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of unlawful transportation of hazardous supplies.
A grand jury indictment stated that from 2010 by way of 2018, Hess and Koch provided to cremate our bodies and supply the stays to households at a value of $1,000 or extra, however many of the cremations by no means occurred.
Hess had created a nonprofit group in 2009 known as Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation as a body-broker service doing enterprise as Donor Services, authorities stated.
On dozens of events, Hess and Koch transferred our bodies or body parts to 3rd events for analysis with out households’ information, based on the U.S. Justice Department. The transfers have been achieved by way of Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation and Donor Services, authorities stated.
Hess and Koch additionally shipped our bodies and body parts that examined optimistic for, or belonged to individuals who died from, infectious ailments together with Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, regardless of certifying to patrons that the stays have been disease-free, authorities stated.
Both Hess and Koch initially had pleaded not guilty to the fees.
Hess is tentatively set to be sentenced in January. A change of plea listening to for Koch is scheduled for July 12.
Prosecutors really useful a sentence for Hess of 12 to fifteen years.