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Former attorney faces more charges

Cohen accused of causing clients to lose home in sheriff’s sale

A former Hollidaysburg attorney, accused of costing a Blair County client their home for lack of mortgage payments, now faces charges in Bedford County for allegedly failing to send a client’s check to the proper company, thus causing them to lose their home in a sheriff’s sale.

Michael B. Cohen, 41, was arraigned Thursday before Magisterial District Judge Tonya M. Osman in Schellsburg on a felony count of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, filed by state police at Bedford.

Cohen was released on $60,000 unsecured bail. His preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 12 in Bedford County Central Court.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, a Kimmel Township couple reported a theft involving Cohen, who as a licensed attorney, represented them for several years.

The couple reported the incident to state police on May 9, 2024, and explained how Cohen allegedly caused them to lose their home.

The couple said they inherited their Jefferson Lane, Kimmel Township, home and took out a home improvement loan through Wells Fargo. While attempting to sell a portion of the property, they learned of a lien on the property through CitiBank, which prevented the sale.

The couple contacted Cohen for legal help and in early 2022, he told them he settled with the law firm representing Wells Fargo. The couple told police that with a payment of $60,000, Cohen told them they would own the property with no liens, so they issued a check to him in May 2022.

The victims later learned their property was listed for sheriff’s sale and when contacting Cohen again, he advised them not to worry and that he would get the sale reversed.

On Jan. 30, 2024, the couple were presented with a court order from the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department, forcing them to vacate the property due to the property being sold in a sheriff’s sale, according to the affidavit.

The couple said they left the property and again contacted Cohen, who told them he could get the sale reversed.

While investigating, police interviewed Cohen in June 2024 at the Bedford barracks. There, Cohen said he was negotiating with Wells Fargo and CitiBank to come to a resolution in the case. He said he received a $60,000 check from the couple in the summer of 2022 and sent $50,000 to CitiBank, as he believed the issues with CitiBank were more pressing.

Police reported Cohen acknowledged receiving $60,000 from the couple that was to be sent to Wells Fargo, but instead was sent to CitiBank. Wells Fargo foreclosed on the property, police said.

Through several search warrants, it was found that no payments were made to Wells Fargo. State police said the remaining $10,000 is unaccounted for.

Meanwhile, charges in three criminal cases filed against Cohen in Blair County are pending, including a case filed in August where a couple seeks restitution of $564,700.

In that case, a husband and wife hired Cohen to resolve mortgage discrepancies and sent payments to Cohen who they thought was paying their mortgage company. Charges indicate that in early 2023, the couple received paperwork indicating their house was going to be part of a sheriff sale. The couple told police that when they asked Cohen about the notice, he told them not to worry about it.

Subsequently, police said the couple got a notice to vacate the residence and felt forced to move into a small one-room cabin without an operational bathroom.

Charges indicate that the wife lost custody privileges because of the living situation.

In response to the couple’s accusations in the Blair County case, Cohen advised investigators of a decline in his mental health and said it contributed to his disbarment, with consent, effective April 7, 2023.

Cohen has records tampering and forgery charges pending in Blair County.

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