ALSIP , Illinois ( CNN ) -- Four people face felony charges after authorities discovered that hundreds of graves were dug up and allegedly resold at a historic African-American cemetery near Chicago , Illinois , authorities said Thursday . Dozens of graves at Burr Oak Cemetery were desecrated by workers as part of a financial scheme , authorities say . Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said the four would resell the plots in Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip , excavate the graves , dump the remains and pocket the cash . `` This was not done in a very , very delicate way , folks , '' he told reporters at a news conference Thursday . `` They would excavate a grave and would proceed to dump the remains wherever they found a place to do it in the back of the cemetery . This was not moving graves ; this was not replacing graves ; this was dumping of them . '' In some cases , graves were stacked on top of each other , they `` literally pounded the other one down , '' Dart said . In all about 300 graves may have been dug up in the cemetery , he said . Authorities identified those charged as Carolyn Towns , an office manager for the cemetery ; and Keith Nicks , Terrance Nicks and Maurice Daley , all gravediggers . Each has been charged with dismembering a human body , a felony charge for which sentences range from 6 to 30 years , Anita Alvarez , Cook County state 's attorney , said at the news conference . Steven Watkins , an attorney for Towns , said his client is innocent . `` Somebody is apparently making false accusations against my client , '' he said . `` She 's maintaining her innocence . '' The Cook County state attorney 's office said the other three charged were being represented by the public defender 's office , and a message left at that office was not immediately returned . Bail was set at $ 250,000 for Towns and $ 200,000 for the other three , Alvarez said . None had posted bail by late afternoon Thursday , the sheriff 's department said . Watch officials announce the charges » . It was not immediately known if the four had legal counsel . Authorities began investigating the cemetery -- where , among others , lynching victim Emmett Till , blues legend Dinah Washington and some Negro League baseball players are buried -- about six weeks ago after receiving a call from its owners who had concerns about possible `` financial irregularities '' regarding the business , Dart told CNN earlier this week . `` This crime , it 's a whole new dimension , '' Alvarez said . Authorities also suspect that Towns pretended to set up a memorial fund for Till and pocketed the funds , Dart said . Watch sheriff discuss gruesome revelation » . He told CNN that groundskeepers , who have not been implicated in the scheme , have said that the grave of Till -- whose 1955 lynching at age 14 helped spark the civil rights movement -- has not been disturbed . The Rev . Jesse Jackson , who was also at the news conference , noted the high-profile names of some of those buried in the cemetery , but said , `` everybody here is special , and every family has special needs and special hurt , special grief . '' Most of the excavations occurred in back lots , where the plots were older and not frequently visited , Dart said earlier this week . However , other plots may have been disturbed , as well . The cemetery 's current owners , who could not be reached by CNN for comment , have operated it for more than five years but are not believed to be involved in the alleged scam , Dart said . He said the workers may have doctored records to cover their tracks and noted that the cemetery holds all the records of who is buried and where . `` There 's virtually no regulations whatsoever ( for cemeteries ) , '' Dart said . `` Most all of the documents and everything are housed here . '' Investigators are trying to determine the scope of the alleged scheme and plan to use thermal-imaging devices to further examine other graves to see if they have been tampered with , Dart said . The FBI , forensic scientists and local funeral directors have been called in to help in the investigation , he said . `` I do n't even know what to tell you about the heartbreaking stories that I 've been hearing from people , crying hysterically that they 're going through the burial for the second time today , '' he said . `` And they 're looking for answers and we 're sitting there telling them , 'This is going to be very difficult , '' he said . `` We 're trying to bring closure , but it 's going to take a long time to do that . '' CNN 's Katherine Wojtecki and Taylor Gandossy contributed to this report .
NEW : Cemetery office manager , About 300 gravediggers charged . NEW : Rev . Emmett Till says there should be `` special place in hell '' for suspects . NEW : three graves may have been dug up , sheriff says . Jesse Jackson , other prominent African-American buried at cemetery .