# Shirley koch
Megan Hess: Former funeral home owner ordered to pay restitution to families she scammed
A judge ordered two women who formerly ran a funeral home and organ donor service to pay a hefty restitution to the victims, who paid for cremation services, only to discover their loved ones’ remains had been sold in a body-brokering scam, according to a report by the Montrose Daily Press.
Megan Hess: Funeral home owner and her mother plan to appeal sentences for mail fraud case
A mother-daughter team who previously ran a funeral home and organ donor service convicted of mail fraud plan to appeal their sentences imposed on them at the start of January 2023, according to the Montrose Daily Press.
Megan Hess: Funeral home director and her mother sentenced in body brokering case
Funeral home directors Megan Hess and her mother, Shirley Koch, were both sentenced on Jan. 3, 2023 after the pair pleaded guilty to mail fraud back in November, according to a CBS report.
Megan Hess: Prosecution proposes 15.6-year sentence instead of 20 in funeral home fraud case
Megan Hess stares down a potential 15.6 year sentence and the loss of all of her assets as consequence for what prosecutors call a “macabre” and “callous” case, according to a report from the Montrose Daily Press.
Megan Hess: second motion to delay sentence hearing in funeral home fraud case denied
For a second time, Megan Hess’ defense team saw their motion to delay their client’s sentence hearing denied, the Montrose Daily Press reports. Hess, the 45-year-old former funeral home owner charged with mail fraud, stands accused alongside her mother, 68-year-old Shirley Koch, of selling body parts or entire bodies without consent of the families, and replacing the cremated remains with those of other deceased people or random debris, according to the 2020 indictment.
Megan Hess: judge denies defense request for sentencing date delay in Sunset Mesa case
The request to delay former funeral director Megan Hess’ sentencing date has been denied, according to a report by KKCO. Her defense asked a federal judge on Nov. 11, 2022 to delay the sentence date for Hess, claiming they had “extensive materials” to prepare in regards to calculating the loss, restitution, relevant conduct, and mitigation, and said one of Hess’ attorneys is also on maternity leave, the Montrose Daily Press reported earlier this week.
Sunset Mesa plea deals accepted, sentencing hearings delayed
A mother and daughter duo who are accused of brokering body parts and scamming clients while operating a Montrose funeral home have had their sentencing dates pushed back, according to a report from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
Funeral home operator's mother pleads guilty to brokering body parts and mail fraud
After her daughter pleaded guilty last week to mail fraud, 69-year-old Shirley Koch did the same in court on Tuesday, according to a Daily Sentinel report. Shirley Koch, left, and her attorneyChristopher Tomlinson, The Daily Sentinel.