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A Nash County man could face up to more than three decades in prison after he and his wife pled guilty in connection to a scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday.
Joe Lewis Jefferson, 49, of Nashville pled guilty to executing a scheme to defraud a program designed to help people struggling in North Carolina stay in their homes during the pandemic, prosecutors said. His wife, Danyael Davis Jefferson, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for her role in the scheme back on March 27.
According to information presented in court, Joe recruited others to falsely pose as landlords for properties in eastern North Carolina. In the names of these nominee landlords, Jefferson prepared and submitted fraudulent North Carolina Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (NC HOPE) loan applications for emergency rental assistance, prosecutors said.
“When the applications were approved, NC HOPE mailed checks to addresses controlled by Jefferson,” according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. “Jefferson traveled with the nominee landlords to area banks to negotiate the checks and split the proceeds.” --->READ MORE HERE
A Colorado judge ordered a nearly $1 billion payout to families in a civil lawsuit against funeral home owners accused of failing to cremate or bury at least 190 bodies they were paid to handle dating back to at least 2019, attorneys announced.
The judge ordered Jon and Carie Hallford, owners of Return to Nature Funeral Home, to pay about $950 million to 125 people who sued the couple in a class action lawsuit, Andrew Swan, an attorney representing the victims, told USA TODAY on Wednesday. Swan said the judgment was entered as the couple neglected to answer the complaint, attend hearings, or participate in the case.
"The judge determined because the act is so egregious, they are entitled to punitive damages along with it," Swan added.
Families filed the lawsuit after the grisly discoveries shocked the nation. Authorities began investigating the Colorado funeral home in early October after neighbors reported the putrid smell of decaying bodies, which investigators say Jon Hallford falsely attributed to his taxidermy hobby. The EPA concluded the building itself was too full of "biohazards."
Federal prosecutors charged the couple in April for various money crimes relating to the misuse of COVID relief funds. The charges are in addition to the hundreds of felonies the Hallfords are already facing in Colorado, including abusing corpses, theft, money laundering, and forgery.
Authorities arrested the couple in Oklahoma and were later extradited to Colorado, the El Paso and Teller Counties District Attorney's offices said in November.
Families previously told USA TODAY they were horrified as some received what they thought were cremated remains of their loved ones. Swan said the payout is intended to ensure that if the Hallfords have jobs in the future, families could petition for their earnings.
"The odds of the Hallfords ever complying with the judgment are slim," Swan said. "The purpose wasn't to get money, but to hold them accountable for what they did." --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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