(CNSNews.com)—On January 3, 2023, Colorado’s State Attorney’s Office released a statement regarding an illegal body part scheme, reporting that the operators of the Sunset Mesa Funeral Home were sentenced to federal prison for illegally harvesting body parts for sale and purchase.

In the statement, U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan called the conduct of the two women “horrific and morbid”:

“The defendants’ conduct was horrific and morbid and driven by greed. They took advantage of

numerous victims who were at their lowest point given the recent loss of a loved one. We hope

these prison sentences will bring the victim’s family members some amount of peace as they

move forward in the grieving process.

“We sincerely hope this punishment deters like-minded fraudsters in the future.”

The actions of Megan Hess, age 46, and Shirley Koch, age 69, took place between the years of

2010-2018. Both women pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting. Hess

received 20 years in federal prison, while Koch was sentenced to 15.

According to the plea agreement, Hess and Koch stole deceased bodies and body parts from

hundreds of victims, and then sold the remains to body broker services. They used their positions at Sunset Mesa Funeral Home to meet with families seeking cremation for their loved ones who

had passed away. While conducting these meetings, Hess and Koch would assure the families that cremation would take place. Instead, however, they would then harvest body parts, in some cases entire bodies, and illegally sell them to broker services.

In many instances of these meetings, Hess and Koch neither discussed nor obtained the families’

approval for donation of the deceased. In some instances, the families specifically refused the

donation process, but Hess and Koch ignored their requests. Occasionally, when the donation requests of Hess and Koch were approved, the women sold the remains of the deceased beyond the scope of the authorized agreement.

More often than not, Hess and Koch delivered cremains to families, falsely claiming they were the cremains of their loved ones when, instead, the remains were those of someone not related to the defrauded families.

Hess and Koch were also caught selling and transporting bodies that tested positive for infectious

diseases, such as Hepatitis B and C, and HIV, while claiming the bodies were disease free. They

routinely used postal services and commercial air flights to transport the deceased, which is in

direct violation of the Department of Transportation’s regulations regarding hazardous materials.

“These two women preyed on vulnerable victims who turned to them in a time of grief and sadness. But instead of offering guidance, these greedy women betrayed the trust of hundreds of victims and mutilated their loved ones,” FBI Denver Acting Special Agent in Charge Leonard Carollo said in the statement:

“Without knowledge or consent, the women disrespected the wishes of the grieving victims and

degraded the bodies of their family members to sell them for profit. These two criminals

continued in their atrocities for years, showing no remorse or contrition even after they were

exposed.”

“Nothing can guarantee solace for the victims or repair the damage done, but perhaps

this sentence can mark the end of a horrible chapter in their lives,’ Carollo said.