Colorado Funeral Home Owner Megan Hess Sold Human Body Parts Without Families’ Consent — Then the FBI Uncovered the Scheme

Families trusted Megan Hess to handle the remains of their loved ones with dignity. They paid for funeral and cremation services, believing their relatives would be laid to rest according to their wishes. But investigators uncovered a disturbing operation inside her Colorado funeral home, where human remains were allegedly being sold to third parties without families’ permission.

The case centered on Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors in Montrose, Colorado, and a related body-brokering business called Donor Services. Hess operated the businesses with help from her mother, Shirley Koch, and authorities said the operation continued for years before federal investigators intervened.

A Funeral Home With a Hidden Business

In March 2020, federal prosecutors announced that Hess and Koch had been indicted on charges of mail fraud and illegally transporting hazardous materials.

According to the indictment, the women offered families cremation services, often charging $1,000 or more. However, prosecutors alleged that in numerous cases, bodies or body parts were transferred to customers without the families’ knowledge or authorization.

In some cases, families received cremated remains that did not belong to their deceased relatives. Investigators also alleged that the operation shipped human remains from people who had infectious diseases, including HIV and hepatitis, after representing them as disease-free.

The revelations left grieving families struggling to understand what had happened to their loved ones after they had entrusted them to a funeral home.

The FBI Raid That Exposed the Case

Federal investigators raided the Sunset Mesa facility in February 2018. The investigation that followed examined records, shipments and the handling of human remains over several years.

The case attracted national attention because it exposed weaknesses in the oversight of the funeral industry and businesses that arrange anatomical donations. Families had believed they were authorizing cremations or, in some cases, limited donations for medical research — not the sale of entire bodies or multiple body parts.

One family learned that a loved one’s remains had been divided and sent to different buyers. Other families were left questioning whether the ashes they had received were actually those of their relatives.

Megan Hess and Her Mother Were Sentenced to Prison

In 2022, Hess and Koch pleaded guilty to federal mail-fraud charges. Their guilty pleas acknowledged their roles in the scheme, and prosecutors outlined how the operation had taken advantage of families during periods of grief.

On January 3, 2023, Hess was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, while Koch received a 15-year sentence.

The case involved hundreds of victims, according to the government. Prosecutors said the women had taken advantage of families who trusted them to care for the remains of people they loved.

Both women appealed their sentences. In July 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated the original sentences and sent the cases back for resentencing because of errors in the sentencing calculations.

In April 2025, the judge again sentenced Hess to 20 years and Koch to 15 years in prison.

A Case That Changed How People Viewed Funeral Services

The Sunset Mesa scandal prompted renewed scrutiny of the body-donation industry and the safeguards intended to protect families. It also helped draw attention to the lack of consistent regulation governing body brokers in the United States.

For families affected by the scheme, the consequences extended far beyond financial loss. They had made decisions about their loved ones based on trust, only to discover that the remains had allegedly been handled in ways they never authorized.

The case remains one of the most disturbing examples of alleged misconduct within the funeral industry — a reminder that even during the most vulnerable moments of grief, families can be exposed to exploitation when oversight fails.

Source:  westword