Man pleads guilty to buying, selling stolen human body parts linked to Harvard Medical School

SCRANTON, Pa. — A man has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to buying and selling stolen human remains that were tied to Harvard Medical School, officials say.

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Jeremy Pauley, 41, pleaded guilty on Thursday to federal charges of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Pauley is facing up to 15 years in prison, according to The Associated Press. A sentencing hearing date has not been released.

Pauley admitted that he purchased human remains from several people and knew that they were stolen, according to the AP. He also admitted to selling some of the stolen remains including to at least one person who was also aware that they were stolen remains.

Last year, investigators searched Pauley’s house in Enola, Pennsylvania, according to WGAL. They found three five-gallon buckets that were filled with different human remains. In a criminal complaint, the body parts found in the buckets included brains, a heart, a kidney, a spleen, livers, lungs and skin.

“This is one of the most bizarre investigations I have encountered in my 33 years as a prosecutor,” District Attorney Seán McCormack said after Pauley’s arrest in 2022, according to the news outlet. “Just when I think I have seen it all, a case like this comes around.”

Pauley was one of seven people who have been indicted in the case last June, the AP reported. Cedric Lodge, 55, is accused of stealing dissected parts of cadavers that were donated to the Harvard Medical School in a scheme from 2018 to 2023. The body parts were taken without the medical school’s knowledge or permission, officials say. Harvard cooperated with the investigation.

Lodge often times took body parts back to his house as others were sent through the mail to buyers, officials said, according to the AP. He even reportedly allowed buyers to come to the morgue to pick out which remains they wanted. Lodge’s wife, Denise, 63, is also facing charges related to the case.

The three others who have been charged in the case include Katrina Maclean, 44; Joshua Taylor, 46; and Mathew Lampi, 52, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Middle District of Pennsylvania. In addition, Candace Chapman-Scott was indicted in a federal court in the District of Arkansas for her role in the conspiracy and for her involvement in defrauding the mortuary where she worked.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that they will continue to try to identify and contact as many of the victims and their families that have been affected by this case as they can.

Pauley is also facing local charges, according to WGAL.