POCATELLO — The former owner of the now-defunct Downard Funeral Home faces 22 felony charges in connection to the September 2021 incident where a dozen decomposing bodies were found at his funeral home and the bodies of more than 25 others disappeared.

Lance Peck, 48, of Pocatello, has been charged with seven counts of grand theft by deception, five counts of furnishing false vital statistics information, four counts of income tax evasion, two counts of offering false records, two counts of computer fraud and two counts of perjury.

The 22 felony charges filed against Peck on Oct. 11 followed investigations by the Pocatello Police Department, Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses and Idaho State Tax Commission and will soon be enjoined with the 63 misdemeanor charges Peck has faced since he was arrested on Aug. 30, 2022.

The new felony charges stem from Peck’s operation of Downard between 2017 and 2021, court records show.

Recently released court documents contain the allegation that at least 25 families either didn’t receive any cremated remains or received the wrong cremated remains from Peck during his operation of the funeral home that was formerly located at 241 N. Garfield Ave. in Pocatello.

Aside from the startling new information, most of the newly released court documents, which remained sealed by judicial order from the time they were filed on Oct. 11 until Peck was served with a summons on Oct. 16, contain a timeline of the investigative work police detectives and state officials put into the case to identify the alleged fraud Peck committed while operating Downard.

A report chronicling the Idaho State Tax Commission’s investigation into Peck was included as part of the newly released documents.

The report says the evidence will show that Peck “willfully evaded taxes on (his) 2017-2020 Idaho income tax by not including Downard’s income of $434,017.67 on the business income tax return creating a tax burden on (his) individual income tax returns of $32,374.”

Additionally, the report states the evidence “will show that Lance Peck willfully evaded taxes on Downard’s 2017-2020 sales tax returns by not including the price increase of $2,313.64 in taxable sales, creating a tax due of $138.82.”

The four felony tax evasion charges Peck faces stem from the Idaho State Tax Commission’s investigation into his operation of Downard.

The perjury charges also stem from this portion of the investigation because Peck certified his 2018 and 2019 tax documents as “true, complete and correct” even though “he well knew (them) to be false,” court records state.

Further, the two counts of computer fraud and two counts of offering false records are also related to the tax commission investigation because Peck filed fraudulent income tax documents for his 2018 and 2019 tax years and used a computer to submit fraudulent sales tax forms for the 2019 and 2020 tax years, according to court records.

The seven counts of grand theft by deception filed against Peck are related to his alleged misrepresentations to local families regarding cremation services he charged for but ultimately did not provide, court records show.

Three of those grand theft charges state Peck charged three local families over $1,000 each to cremate three deceased individuals whose decomposing bodies were ultimately located at Downard Funeral Home when Pocatello police raided the facility on Sept. 3, 2021, while executing a search warrant, according to court records.

Two of the grand theft charges allege Peck charged two other local families over $1,000 each to cremate the bodies of their loved ones and provided them with cremated remains knowing that the deceased individuals had not actually been cremated yet, court records show.

The last two grand theft charges allege Peck charged two other local families over $1,000 each to cremate their deceased loved ones and failed to provide the families with cremated remains and that the whereabouts of those two bodies remain unknown to this day, according to court records.

Exactly how much each of the seven families paid Peck for cremation services was not included in the court records, but the minimum amount for a grand theft felony charge in Idaho is $1,000.

This filing of felony charges comes after Peck’s Pocatello attorney, Richard Blok, and the prosecution entered into mediation in August. According to a Bannock County news release issued earlier this month, Blok and Bannock County Prosecutor Steve Herzog have “made significant progress towards reaching a resolution of the case.”

“The parties intend to return to mediation in the near future with the hope of reaching a final resolution,” the county’s news release states. “The details of what took place during mediation are confidential.”

Herzog said, “I want to thank the public, especially the families who have been impacted by the defendant’s actions, for your continued patience. We encourage people to continue communicating with our office. Your comments are valuable, and we will try to respond in a timely manner.”

The Prosecutor’s Office is inviting family members affected by the alleged actions of the defendant to submit their input on what they feel is a fair resolution to the case by emailing downardprosecution@bannockcounty.gov.

Peck was charged with 60 misdemeanor counts of unprofessional conduct by morticians, funeral directors or embalmers and three misdemeanor counts of petit theft in August 2022 after Pocatello police executed a search warrant in September 2021 at Downard Funeral Home, which led to the discovery of 12 bodies in various stages of decomposition, approximately 50 fetuses in jars and dozens of unidentified cremated remains.

Peck posted a $20,000 bond the day after he was arrested and was released from jail. He was not arrested again when the felony charges were filed earlier this month and was instead issued a summons to appear in court.

Court records indicate Peck is set to appear in court again on Wednesday for an arraignment hearing on the new felony charges. From there, a preliminary hearing will be held involving prosecutors attempting to prove there is enough evidence against Peck to elevate the felony charges from the magistrate to district court level for trial.

Once elevated to district court, it’s likely the felony and misdemeanor charges are enjoined into one case and a trial date will be set while Blok and Bannock County prosecutors continue to mediate the case.

Peck was originally scheduled to contest the 63 misdemeanor charges during a jury trial this month but that trial has since been vacated because of the additional felony charges being filed against him.

In addition to the felony and misdemeanor criminal charges, Peck faces several civil lawsuits related to his handling of funeral and cremation services for local families. At least 15 families are currently suing Peck, according to court records.

If convicted of all the current misdemeanor charges against him and the sentences are ordered to be served consecutively, Peck faces a maximum penalty of over 30 years in jail.

If convicted of all the current felony charges and the sentences are ordered to be served consecutively, Peck faces a maximum penalty of 227 years in prison and a fine of up to $140,000.

When asked to provide a statement about the new felony charges being filed, Blok declined to comment for this article.