Harvard University to Pay $53 Million Settlement Over Theft and Sale of Human Remains
Harvard University has agreed to a $53 million settlement to resolve civil lawsuits stemming from the illegal theft and sale of human remains donated to its medical school for scientific research. Cedric Lodge, a former Harvard Medical School morgue manager, was sentenced to eight years in prison in December after pleading guilty to stealing and selling body parts, including organs, skin, brains, and dissected heads, from cadavers between 2018 and at least March 2020. His wife, Denise Lodge, received a 12-month and one-day prison sentence for her involvement. The U.S. Justice Department stated that Lodge transported the remains to his New Hampshire home and, with his wife, shipped them to buyers in other states, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, often for resale at a profit. Several other defendants also pleaded guilty and were sentenced in related cases. The settlement follows lawsuits filed by affected families in the summer of 2023, alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and emotional di... 
