Cohen

JOHNSTOWN — A former Blair County attorney was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months’ incarceration in a federal prison with a to-be-determined reporting date, followed by two years’ probation.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Haines handed down the sentence to Michael B. Cohen, 42, who pleaded guilty in July to felony counts of forgery in which he admitted to creating two separate documents in 2022, both with the false signature of Matthew Brann, chief judge of the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Cohen, who addressed Haines in court, became emotional as he asked the judge to recognize that a deterioration in his mental health in 2022 factored into how he was failing to do his job.

“The right thing to do would have been to seek help,” Cohen told the judge. “I kept thinking that I could right the ship behind the scenes … but that was irrational thinking. In fact, it was criminal thinking.”

Altoona attorney Dan Kiss, who represented Cohen, also pleaded with the judge to understand that what happened to Cohen could happen to anyone.

“I think Mike’s biggest problem was that he couldn’t say ‘no’ to (his clients),” Kiss said. “He went to great lengths to make people feel something was happening.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl J. Spindler asked Haines to hand down a sentence with at least seven months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ probation.

Spindler reminded the judge that Cohen spent three years in law school learning right from wrong.

“This wasn’t a momentary lapse in judgment,” Spindler said in court, where he referenced Cohen’s pending charges and convictions in Blair and Bedford counties.

Kiss also referenced the Bedford County case and suggested that Haines hand down a sentence similar to the one imposed in October to address a felony count of failure to deposit client funds. In that case, where Cohen’s client reported losing his home and possessions, Senior Judge Patrick Kiniry imposed five years’ probation, with the first six months on electronic monitoring and confinement to his residence, except for work, court and family obligations and medical treatment.

Spindler, however, proposed a sentence with incarceration to address Cohen’s creation of documents with the forged judicial signature.

“In committing these offenses, the defendant abused his special skillset and position of trust — trust from his clients, from the courts and from the entire legal system,” Spindler wrote in a sentencing memorandum for the judge’s review. ”

In court Tuesday, Kiss told Haines that Cohen was wearing the electronic monitoring device required by the Bedford County sentence. He also said that after Cohen’s disbarment with consent in April 2023, Cohen found work as a marketing manager for a home improvement company.

Haines acknowledged that Cohen had voluntarily entered guilty pleas to the forgery counts for a sentence that would be up to her to decide. She also recognized his ongoing compliance with bail conditions and pursuit of mental health treatment.

In support of the imposed sentence with 15 months’ incarceration, Haines named factors including the seriousness of the offenses, the need for justified punishment, state sentencing guidelines and the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities with others found guilty of similar conduct.

Haines also said that based on Cohen’s compliance with bail conditions, she considered him a good candidate for voluntary surrender.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons will be expected to set a reporting date and location, with Haines indicating in the sentencing order that the bureau can consider housing Cohen at its Loretto facility, as Kiss requested to keep his client closer to family.

Kiss, who acknowledged surprise at the length of sentence in light of Spindler’s proposal for a minimum of seven months’ incarceration, said outside court that he will review appeal options.

Spindler deferred comment to the U.S. Attorney office.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.