Harvard to Pay $53 Million Over Stolen Donated Remains Sold to Buyers

Harvard Medical School has agreed to pay $53 million to settle class-action lawsuits filed by 47 families after donated human remains were secretly removed from its morgue and sold to private buyers, according to Boing Boing’s report. The remains had been donated with the understanding that they would be used for research and education. It remains unclear which donors’ remains were taken and sold. The former morgue manager, Cedric Lodge, was accused of arranging the interstate sale of body parts between 2018 and August 2022. Authorities said the scheme involved brains, skin, hands and faces. Lodge pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December 2025 to 96 months in prison. His wife, Denise Lodge, was also sentenced for assisting him, while six buyers were convicted and sentenced after being charged in connection with the scheme. One buyer received skin from Lodge to have it tanned and used to bind a book, according to a court filing cited in the report. Prosecutors also said Lodge and his wife sold a man’s face, though the report does not identify what ultimately happened to it. Lodge managed the Harvard morgue for 28 years. Harvard said his actions occurred without the school’s knowledge or permission and described them as a betrayal of the medical community’s values. In a letter to families, the school expressed sorrow and empathy for donors who may have been affected. Harvard suspended body donations for five months in 2023 after the scandal became public. The school says it has since made improvements to its Anatomical Gift Program intended to prevent a recurrence. The civil lawsuits also highlighted Lodge’s interest in macabre themes, including a personalized license plate reading “GRIM-R.” Those details were presented in the lawsuits as evidence of his attitude toward his work, rather than as findings establishing why he committed the crimes. The settlement addresses claims brought by the families, while the criminal convictions separately concern Lodge, his wife and the buyers involved in the illegal transactions.