Jeff Cochran has been sentenced to a term of 3-23 months in prison by a Pennsylvania judge for defrauding the Nemacolin Woodlands resort of over $16,000 in lodging and amenities.
Cochran pleaded guilty to charges of theft by deception and theft of services. Cochran claimed he was a doctor and golf pro during his stay, saying he was working at nearby Uniontown Hospital and that a doctor, whose identity was concocted by Cochran, would pay the tab. After a two-week stay from May 15-28, the resort became hip to Cochran's scam and he left without getting caught.
In addition to the jail term, Cochran was permanently banned from the Nemacolin resort and will be required to pay restitution for the charges. Cochran faces similar charges in Butler County, Penn., for operating a near identical scheme at Conley Resort for a six-day stay, racking up over $1,200 in charges.
He also is wanted in Nebraska on similar charges.
Cochran was arrested in November in Michigan after his mother's funeral in his hometown. Law enforcement in Michigan was tipped off to Cochran's whereabouts after he had told a confidant at another hotel he scammed about his mother's passing and that he would be returning home for the service.
Golf News Net has previously reported on Cochran's life of schemes. Cochran has impersonated a golf pro in Nevada, Nebraska, Michigan, Georgia and Florida, and potentially in other states, scamming myriad individuals out of thousands of dollars under various guises, including pocketing money that he claimed was for victims of the Joplin, Missou., tornado in 2011. He also impersonated PGA Tour winner Chris Riley to land an unpaid position with the Savannah State golf program, ultimately swindling thousands from parents of players.
Cochran's story came to our attention after a piece on him ran on the conservative website, The Blaze. In the story, Cochran claimed he was a golf pro on the precipice of landing a spot on the PGA or European Tours but had lost a critical sponsor, the fictitious Nebraska Golf Card, because Cochran was a devout political disciple of the likes of Blaze founder Glenn Beck and Texas senator Ted Cruz. The Blaze has never retracted its initial story.
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