Investigations

On July 5, 2022, Megan Hess pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to one count of mail fraud and aiding and abetting. According to the plea agreement, from 2010 through 2018, Hess devised and executed a scheme to steal the bodies or body parts of hundreds of victims and then sold those remains to buyers purchasing the remains for scientific, medical, or educational purposes. The investigation also revealed that Hess shipped bodies and body parts that tested positive for or belonged to people who had died from infectious diseases, including hepatitis and HIV, after certifying to buyers that the remains were disease free. Hess made shipments through the mail or on commercial air flights in violation of DOT regulations regarding the transportation of hazardous material. Hess was indicted in March 2020.

 

DOT-OIG and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are conducting this investigation.