Funeral Home Owners Splurge On Luxury, Crypto, And Vegas Dinners As Bodies Pile Up

These expenses reportedly included vehicles, cryptocurrency, and a lavish $1,500 dinner in Las Vegas.

FBI Agent Andrew Cohen, testifying in a crowded courtroom on Thursday, stated that the Hallfords purchased a GMC Yukon and an Infiniti for over $120,000 using payments from grieving families. The Associated Press reports that this sum would have been sufficient to cover the cremation costs for twice the number of bodies found decomposing in their Penrose storage facility.

However, Jon's attorney, Adam Steigerwald, contested these allegations. He argued that the prosecution has failed to demonstrate that the funds from their business account were used to obscure the source of the money, a key element in proving money laundering. Steigerwald also claimed that the couple used funds from the federal Small Business Administration to purchase the Yukon.

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Agent Cohen countered this claim, asserting that the funds used to buy the Yukon were fraudulently obtained. He alleged that Jon lied about being current on child support payments to secure a pandemic-era small business loan adjustment.

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February 10, 2024

The revelations about the Hallfords' spending habits emerged during a hearing where a judge determined that sufficient evidence had been presented to warrant a trial for Jon. It had been previously decided that Carie would also face trial.

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The couple was arrested in Oklahoma in November, each facing 190 counts of abuse of a corpse, five counts of theft, four counts of money laundering, and over 50 counts of forgery. Neither has entered a plea to date.

Prosecutors presented text messages during an earlier hearing for Carie, suggesting that the Hallfords attempted to conceal their financial difficulties by leaving the bodies at the Penrose facility. Agent Cohen testified that the storage facility had non-operational makeshift refrigeration units when the decaying bodies were found in the maggot-infested building.

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Prosecutors allege that Jon expressed concern about being discovered as early as 2020, suggesting they dispose of the bodies in a large hole and treat them with lye or fire. "My one and only focus is keeping us out of jail," he reportedly texted.

Jon was released from jail after posting a $100,000 bond in late January, while Carie remains incarcerated on the same amount.