Harvard University has agreed to pay $53 million to settle lawsuits brought by families whose deceased relatives’ remains were stolen and sold by a former morgue manager.
Cedric Lodge, a former manager at Harvard Medical School’s morgue, pleaded guilty after prosecutors accused him of stealing human remains from donated cadavers and selling them to buyers between 2018 and 2021.
The remains were taken from bodies donated through Harvard Medical School’s Anatomical Gifts Program, which provides cadavers for medical education and research.
Authorities said Lodge removed and sold body parts including brains, faces, hands and skin. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in December 2025, while several other people involved in the scheme also received prison sentences.
Harvard has now agreed to settle claims from 47 relatives who alleged that the university failed to properly safeguard the remains of their loved ones.
The $53 million settlement follows a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that allowed the families’ lawsuits to move forward.
Harvard officials condemned Lodge’s actions, calling them a serious betrayal of the standards expected in the treatment of anatomical donors and their families.
The university has emphasized that Lodge acted independently and that his conduct was completely inconsistent with Harvard Medical School’s policies and values.