Harvard University has agreed to a $53 million settlement following the scandal involving a former morgue manager who stole and sold body parts donated for research. The settlement plan received court approval on Tuesday.
Cedric Lodge, who managed the morgue at Harvard Medical School, was sentenced to eight years in prison in December after admitting to trafficking stolen remains. Lodge, along with his wife, removed body parts from the school, without informing his employer, the donors, or their families, and sold them to buyers across states starting in 2018.
On Monday, Harvard expressed in a letter its intent to establish two class-action settlement funds totalling $53 million. The letter, co-signed by Harvard Medical School Dean George Daley and Dean for Medical Education Bernard Chang, emphasized their commitment to prioritize support for affected families and the organ donation program while avoiding drawn-out legal battles.
They described Lodge’s actions as a betrayal of their medical community’s values and expressed sympathy for the impacted donor families. Preliminary approval for the settlement was reported by the Harvard Crimson on Tuesday.
Cedric Lodge and his wife Denise, who received a one-year prison sentence, were among several involved in this scheme. Six other co-conspirators were convicted after pleading guilty to purchasing remains from Lodge.
Court documents disclosed that Cedric and Denise Lodge, along with Katrina MacLean and Joshua Taylor, conspired with Jeremy Pauley to profit from selling human remains. Pauley, charged in August 2022, reportedly purchased body parts from MacLean. Since 2018, MacLean and Taylor allegedly sold remains acquired from the Lodges.
Further investigations revealed that MacLean and Taylor sold body parts to various buyers. MacLean also stored and sold remains at her store, Kat’s Creepy Creations, located in Salem, Massachusetts. The store’s Instagram page mentions a focus on “creepy dolls, oddities, and bone art” and included a post offering human bones.
Harvard Medical School announced it would establish an annual financial aid scholarship starting in the 2027-28 academic year to honor their anatomical donors. The settlement plan also involves providing a statement to the claimant families denouncing Lodge’s criminal actions and outlining improvements to the organ donation program.
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