A federal grand jury indicted the owners of Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors on charges they fraudulently obtained and sold human body parts, including heads, legs and a spine, and that some parts contained infectious diseases when they were shipped around the globe.
Megan Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch, appeared Tuesday afternoon before a U.S. Magistrate in Grand Junction where they were advised of their rights and the charges pending against them, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said in a media conference call about the indictment.
Hess, 43, and Koch, 66, allegedly sold the body parts without permission and gave cremains of unidentified people to surviving family members as part of a an alleged macabre scheme they carried out from 2010 to 2018, Dunn said. The mother and daughter fraudulently made hundreds-of-thousands of dollars while victimizing Western Slope families who trusted Sunset Mesa with the bodies of their loved ones, he said.
“The defendants are charged with committing a blatant fraud on many, many victims. This betrays a fundamental trust during one of the worst times in a person’s life – having to make arrangements for a deceased loved one,” Dunn said. “It is hard to imagine the pain and worry of those who used Sunset Mesa and not knowing what happened to their loved ones’ remains.”
The pair have been charged with six counts of mail fraud and three counts of illegal transportation of hazardous materials. If convicted of mail fraud, they each face up to 20 years in federal prison, per count. They could face additional prison time if convicted of transportation of hazardous materials. They also face up to a $250,000 fine for each count they’re convicted of, prosecutors said.
For the victims of the alleged scheme, Tuesday’s announcement was a long time in the making.
“Honestly, I’ve been waiting so long it doesn’t feel real yet,” said Debbie Schum. The Hotchkiss firefighter found out in July 2018 that her best friend, who died of cancer, was shipped away almost as soon as she reached the Sunset Mesa funeral home. The ashes she received from Hess and Koch turned out to be a mix of other people.
“It’s not quite sinking in yet. You think I’d be excited, jumping around, dancing, but I’m almost numb,” she said.
As the case surfaced, surviving family members, who had made cremation arrangements with Sunset Mesa, dealt with guilt and feelings of failed responsibility for their loved ones, Dunn said.
“This is not their fault,” Dunn said. “We’re happy we can bring the legal process forward for them and their loved ones.”
The Denver Field Office of the FBI and the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General are part of the investigation and representatives joined in Tuesday’s announcement.
In 2009, Hess created a nonprofit called Sunset Mesa Funeral Foundation, also known as Donor Services, a body broker service operated out of the same location as the Montrose funeral home.
Hess and Koch harvested parts from hundreds of bodies for body broker services, often without permission from the deceased’s family, the indictment said. The income Sunset Mesa received from selling body parts allowed it to offer the lowest cost cremation services in the area and that in turn attracted more families, who unknowingly had their loved ones’ remains sold around the world.
So far, prosecutors have brought forth specific charges in cases they’ll pursue “to prove beyond a reasonable doubt,” Dunn said. Other businesses and entities that received bodies and body parts are considered victims in the case as well, Dunn said.
“In many instances, a decedent’s entire body was sold through Donor Services. Nevertheless, the families were charged, and paid typically $1,000 or more, for a cremation that never occurred. These families would receive cremains replaced or supplemented by Hess or Koch with the cremains from another person or persons. The families relied on the representation that the cremains they received were that of their loved ones in making final arrangements,” the indictment said.
The indictment lists two instances where body parts, including heads, that contained Hepatitis C were shipped without any labeling or warning for the recipients, according to the indictment.
The defendants, who entered not guilty pleas Tuesday, were represented by counsel at their hearing. A trial date has not yet been set.
Reporter Sam Tabachnik contributed.
