Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the medical school’s morgue scandal.
Cedric Lodge and his wife, Denise, both of Goffstown, New Hampshire, were sentenced in December for their roles in the theft and interstate transport of human remains.
Lodge was sentenced to 96 months in prison, while Denise Lodge was sentenced to 12 months and a day.
From 2018 through at least March 2020, prosecutors said Lodge participated in the sale and interstate transport of human remains stolen from the Harvard Medical School morgue.
The DA said Lodge took the remains without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donors or their families, and transported them to his home in New Hampshire.
After Lodge and his wife sold the remains, they either shipped them to buyers in other states, or the buyers took possession of the remains directly and transported them themselves.
Prosecutors said remains stolen and sold by the Lodges were transported from the morgue in Boston to locations in Salem, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
“We are grateful to be working together with the plaintiffs to move forward in a way that prioritizes support for families and the AGP and avoids prolonged litigation. While Lodge’s sentencing concludes the criminal case against him, and the class action settlement agreement when fulfilled would conclude the civil cases, the process of recovering from this painful incident continues,” said Harvard University Dean of the Faculty of Medicine George Q. Daley and Harvard Medical School Dean for Medical Education Bernard S. Chang.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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