Cedric Lodge, former Harvard morgue manager, was sentenced to eight years in prison for stealing and selling donated human body parts. His wife received a one-year sentence
BOSTON, USA – A former morgue manager at Harvard Medical School, Cedric Lodge, 58, was sentenced on Tuesday to eight years in prison for stealing and selling human body parts donated for scientific research, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
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Lodge pleaded guilty in May 2025 to trafficking stolen human remains, including brains, internal organs, skin, hands, faces, and dissected heads, taken from 2018 through at least March 2020. He was terminated from Harvard in May 2023.
Investigators revealed that Lodge and his wife, Denise Lodge, 65, removed the body parts from the university near Boston and transported them to their home in Goffstown, New Hampshire, as well as locations in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, without consent from Harvard, donors, or the donors’ families. The remains were then shipped to buyers in other states.
Denise Lodge was sentenced to one year in prison for her involvement.
Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, described the sentencing as a step toward holding those responsible for the “heinous crime” accountable.
The Justice Department noted that many of the stolen human remains were later resold at a profit, with several buyers already sentenced or awaiting sentencing.
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This case has drawn significant attention due to the high-profile nature of the institution involved and the sensitive ethical violations regarding donated human remains.
Fresh concerns have emerged over compliance with a court order issued by the High Court of Kano State on April 8, 2026, restraining key parties—including the Honourable Minister of Education, the Kano State Ministry of Land and Physical Planning, the Kano State Urban Development Authority, and Pluck Global Company Limited—from further actions pending the determination of the matter before the court.
Findings indicate that while all parties—except the concessionaire, Pluck Global Company Limited—were duly served within two days of the order, significant challenges were encountered in effecting service on the company, raising troubling questions about its corporate traceability and regulatory vetting.
A review of the company’s records filed with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) revealed addresses that could not be verified as functional business locations. Notably, documentation submitted to Federal Government College (FGC), Kano, dated June 20, 2024, listed two addresses: 8B, Lalupon Street, off Keffi Street, off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, as its head office, and 3 Bargery Road, Bompai, Kano, as its branch office.
However, a physical visit to the Ikoyi address revealed that the entire property is occupied by a company identified as Golden Alchemy, whose staff категорically denied any knowledge of, or shared occupancy with, Pluck Global Company Limited.
Efforts to trace the Kano address yielded even more unsettling findings. The location—a locked duplex—showed no visible signs of commercial activity. Neighbours, while reluctant to speak on record, alluded to irregular movements at odd hours, casting further doubt on the legitimacy of the premises as a corporate office.
In a twist, after multiple attempts to establish contact, an individual purportedly representing the company surfaced in Kano and agreed to receive and acknowledge the court order on April 11, 2026, at approximately 6:00 pm. Curiously, the Ikoyi address—already discredited—was again listed as the company’s official address in the acknowledgment.
These developments raise critical questions regarding due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) protocols on the part of the Federal Ministry of Education. They also cast a spotlight on the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), should a concession agreement indeed have been executed with the company. Stakeholders say it would be instructive to review the addresses contained in all official correspondences and contractual documents linked to the transaction.
Meanwhile, a visit to the premises of Federal Government College, Kano, revealed ongoing construction activity, with workers observed excavating foundations. When approached, the workers declined to disclose the authority under which they were operating—despite the subsistence of a court order restraining further action.
Notably, a previously installed project billboard bearing the insignia of the school authorities and the Federal Ministry of Education had been removed. Sources within the institution suggest that the directive for its removal may have emanated from the Ministry following receipt of the court order.
The unfolding situation presents a complex mix of legal, regulatory, and accountability issues—raising the spectre of possible non-compliance with judicial directives, as well as deeper concerns about transparency in public-private concession arrangements.
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