The heartbreaking development took place in Colorado, US where it is legal in the US to donate organs, but not to sell them.
“Hess – who runs Sunset Mesa Funeral Home in the town of Montrose – charged families up to $1,000 (£834) for cremations that never took place and offered them for free in exchange for donating body parts in some cases, prosecutors said.
“Without consent and using fake donor forms, he then sold body parts including arms, legs and heads through Donor Services, his side business in the same place.
“Several relatives who used Hess for cremation later learned that they had received ashes mixed with other people’s remains,” news outlet reports.
A Reuters investigation inspired the FBI to raid the funeral home in question in 2018 for evidence, leading to the arrest and prosecution of the mother and daughter.
In a statement, Leonard Carollo, the FBI special agent in charge in Denver described the crime as heartless.
“These two women are vulnerable victims who turn to them in times of grief and sorrow.
“But instead of providing guidance, this greedy woman betrayed the trust of hundreds of victims and destroyed their loved ones,” the statement read in part.
On Tuesday, January 3, 2023, when Judge Christine Arguello delivered her verdict on the case, she said that “the most emotional case I’ve ever been on the bench”.
Some victims of these crimes have expressed their dismay and sadness at how convicts have taken advantage of their hardships to create fraudulent wealth.