Colorado Funeral Home Accused of Providing Fake Ashes and Fabricating Records
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Return to Nature Funeral Home in Colorado is under investigation after authorities discovered 189 decaying bodies on the premises. Information gathered by The Associated Press suggests that the funeral home may have provided fake ashes to families and fabricated cremation records.
Several families who used Return to Nature Funeral Home are now concerned that their loved ones were not cremated at all and could be among the unidentified bodies found on the premises. Tanya Wilson, whose mother’s ashes were spread in Hawaii, believes that the ashes she received from Return to Nature in August were fake. “Any peace that we had, thinking that we honored her wishes, you know, was just completely ripped away from us,” Wilson said.
The funeral home provided death certificates to families stating that their loved ones’ remains had been handled by one of two crematories. However, the businesses who allegedly performed the cremations denied ever working with Return to Nature Funeral Home on the stated dates.
None of the families interviewed by the AP received identification tags or certificates, which are typically given to ensure the authenticity of cremations. Furthermore, several families reported that the ashes they received had a consistency similar to dry concrete. Funeral homes have been known to use dry concrete to mimic human ashes in the past.
Stephanie Ford, whose husband was cremated by Return to Nature, discovered that the ashes she received were not her husband’s after her daughter examined them. “Mom, that’s not dad,” her daughter told her. Ford said, “There’s a little bit of guilt on my part that I let him down.”
Public records reveal that Return to Nature Funeral Home, which opened in 2017, has faced financial and legal troubles in recent years. The funeral home was evicted, failed to pay taxes, and was sued by a crematory that did not receive payment for its services.
Authorities are still investigating the case before deciding on potential charges. If found guilty, the funeral home owners could face misdemeanor violations of mortuary regulations and fraud charges. Each body being mishandled could result in separate charges, potentially leading to fines exceeding $1 million. Federal charges could also be brought against the owners, which may result in more severe penalties.
In January, a funeral home operator in Colorado received a 20-year prison sentence for federal mail fraud after illegally selling body parts and providing fake ashes to clients.
The Return to Nature Funeral Home case has left many families devastated and questioning the final resting place of their loved ones. The investigation is ongoing, as authorities work to identify the bodies found on the premises and determine the extent of the funeral home’s alleged wrongdoing.