In a significant turn of events, former Blair County attorney Michael B. Cohen has been sentenced to jail for up to three years following a conviction for creating a fraudulent custody order. Attorney General Dave Sunday disclosed that Cohen, aged 42, entered a plea of guilty to the charge of forgery in September, as per a statement by the Attorney General's Office. The bogus document led to his client violating the conditions of an existing custody arrangement by relocating her child beyond county lines.
As a seasoned attorney, well-versed in the ramifications of his actions, Cohen knew the law. Yet, he repeatedly sought to alter legal documents to his advantage. Acknowledging the gravity of Cohen's misconduct, Attorney General Sunday said, "The defendant's actions were not a simple lapse in judgement," as stated by the Attorney General's Office. Sentencing doled out this Friday accounts for one of the five separate punishments delivered to Cohen over the past three months for various state and federal convictions.
Cohen's deceitful practices came to light when his client, having paid him $10,000 for representation in a child custody case, received a photo from Cohen in December 2022 that displayed a custody order markedly different from the actual terms agreed upon. During an examination by investigators, Cohen admitted to concocting the custody order using his computer and fabricating a judge's signature to feign authenticity, according to the official release.
Further entangled in legal woes, Cohen pleaded guilty in October to charges of theft, with the sentence bringing him under five years of probation in Bedford County. Having forged the signature of a United States District Judge on two different instances, last month's outcome sealed Cohen's fate for 15 months of imprisonment, followed by supervised release spanning two years.
Friday's ruling mandates that Cohen's forgery sentence commence alongside his federal imprisonment, with both terms to run concurrently. Additionally, a separate sentence from Blair County for six to 23 ½ months will coincide with the federal sentence, involving two other cases processed by the Blair County District Attorney's Office. A $1,000 fine and the coverage of prosecution costs add financial burden to Cohen's penalties. Driving the case home was Senior Deputy Attorney General Megan McGoron, whose prosecution efforts played a pivotal role.
