Six individuals were indicted Wednesday for allegedly operating in a nationwide network trading human remains obtained from university morgues, according to the United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
A federal grand jury charged the six individuals with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen goods, the USAO wrote in a press release. Another individual, Candace Chapman Scott, was indicted in April in the Eastern District of Arkansas.
#BREAKING: Today, #FBI Boston special agents arrested Cedric Lodge, who managed the @harvardmed morgue, Denise Lodge, of Goffstown, NH, & Katrina Maclean, of Salem, MA, for allegedly trafficking stolen human remains. Learn more @FBIPhiladelphia @MDPAnews: https://t.co/5XBjaOS6x5
— FBI Boston (@FBIBoston) June 14, 2023
One of the individuals, Cedric Lodge, was responsible for managing the morgue at Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gifts Program and allegedly exploited his position between 2018 and 2022. Shortly before their scheduled cremation, Lodge stole organs and body parts from donated cadavers intended for medical research and educational purposes, according to the press release.
Lodge allegedly transported the stolen remains to his home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, where he and his wife, Denise Lodge, sold them via various social media platforms, the press release continued. He also allowed certain individuals access to Harvard’s morgue so they could handpick the cadavers they wanted to purchase, according to the USAO. Those individuals are identified as Katrina Maclean and Joshua Taylor.
Jeremy Pauley, who allegedly operated an extensive network of interested customers, would purchase the stolen remains from Lodge and others, according to the press release. (RELATED: Men Sentenced For Stealing Over $64,000 From Food Lion Stores)
“Some crimes defy understanding,” U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam said. “The theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human.”
“It is particularly egregious that so many of the victims here volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing,” Karam continued. “For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling.”
“The defendants violated the trust of the deceased and their families all in the name of greed,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire said. “While today’s charges cannot undo the unfathomable pain this heinous crime has caused, the FBI will continue to work tirelessly to see that justice is served.”
The maximum penalty is 15 years of imprisonment under federal law, as well as supervised release post-prison and a fine. The judge will determine the sentence following a guilty verdict, according to the press release.