Harvard to pay $53m to settle lawsuits over theft and sale of donated human remains
Harvard University has agreed to a $53m settlement resolving civil lawsuits over a former morgue manager's scheme to steal and sell body parts donated to its medical school. The lawsuits followed the 2023 indictment of Cedric Lodge, who was later sentenced to eight years in prison.
Harvard University has agreed to pay $53m to settle civil lawsuits brought over the theft and illegal sale of human remains that had been donated to its medical school for research.
Cedric Lodge, 58, the former manager of the Harvard Medical School morgue, was sentenced last December to eight years in prison after pleading guilty in May to stealing and selling body parts as part of a nationwide scheme. Prosecutors said the scheme involved organs, skin, brains and dissected heads taken from cadavers donated to Harvard between 2018 and at least March 2020.
His wife, Denise Lodge, 65, was also sentenced, receiving 12 months and one day in prison for her part in the operation. According to the US Department of Justice, Lodge removed remains without the knowledge or consent of Harvard, the donors, or their families, transporting them to the couple's home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, from where they were shipped to buyers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Many of the remains were resold for profit. Several other defendants in related cases have also pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
Terms of the settlement
According to the Harvard Crimson, the settlement requires Harvard Medical School to hold a live webinar for affected families in which it will state that Lodge's conduct was "morally reprehensible" and inconsistent with the university's standards, and will outline changes made to its Anatomical Gift Program. Starting in the 2027-28 academic year, the school will also create an annual scholarship for medical students in honour of body donors.
Affected families began filing lawsuits against Harvard in summer 2023, shortly after Lodge was indicted, alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and infliction of emotional distress. At the time, medical school deans described Lodge's actions as an "abhorrent betrayal." In an email to staff this week, deans said the settlement would spare both sides prolonged litigation, while acknowledging that recovery from the incident continues and expressing sympathy for affected donor families.
