Michael Cochran was becoming suspicious before his death

The late Michael Cochran apparently believed that his two fraudulent businesses were bringing in millions of dollars in legitimate government contracts, Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney Ben Hatfield told The Register-Herald on Friday.

Michael died on Feb. 11, 2019, under circumstances that his family said were suspicious.

On Thursday, following an investigation by West Virginia State Police Lt. Timothy Bledsoe and Trooper Robert Hinzman, special grand jurors indicted Cochran's wife of 19 years, 40-year-old Natalie Cochran, on a single count of first degree murder in his death.

Hatfield said Friday that it is unlikely that Michael participated in a $2.6 million Ponzi scheme that his wife, Natalie, had been running with financial investments made by the couple's family, friends and other local residents.

Instead, he said, the state's evidence shows that Michael made luxury purchases but that he likely believed he was spending legitimate earnings from the two businesses, Tactical Solutions Group and Technological Management Solutions, which ostensibly provided guns to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Neither of the businesses had completed a single government contract, and Michael had started growing suspicious shortly before he died, Hatfield said.

“I have no evidence to suggest that he knew about the scheme,” said Hatfield. “Even as we wrapped up the case, as we presented to grand jury, I had no evidence that Michael Cochran knew about the scheme that Natalie was running.”

Originally facing 26 felony counts in the scheme, Natalie pleaded guilty in March before U.S. District Court of Southern West Virginia Judge Frank Volk to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering.

She is currently at Federal Correctional Institute-Hazelton in Preston County, serving an 11-year sentence for crimes related to the Ponzi scheme she had operated through the couple's fraudulent businesses from 2017 to 2019.

“It’s important we did this now,” Hatfield said Friday. “We didn’t want to wait.

“We felt we had the case to present. We didn’t want to merely wait until the expiration of her federal sentence, because that would’ve been an undue delay in her case.”

Hatfield said that additional testimony and more physical evidence had come to light over the past few months.

“It’s a highly complicated case so we just needed more time to discover more of that,” Hatfield said. "A case like this takes time to put together."

Michael's mother, Donna Bolt, and his stepfather, Eddie Bolt, both reported in March that Natalie  — not Michael — had run the scheme. The Bolts first believed Natalie was running a successful business operation, they reported.

Donna said Natalie had approached the couple to tell them about her new business, which she and Michael had organized in September 2017, according to Secretary of State's Office records.

Natalie told them that her own parents had invested and that she wanted to earn money for the Bolts, just as she was earning it for her own parents. She convinced the Bolts to place their retirement savings —$245,600 — into the business, Donna reported during Natalie's March sentencing.

"She took advantage of us, because we loved her," Donna said. She said Michael had not asked her to invest.

As the months went by, the Bolts did not see returns on their investment.

Donna reported that Natalie, not Michael, produced some documents — apparently from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, the U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of America and a local attorney — that showed the Bolts' quarterly "earnings" and excuses for why they had not yet received them.

But Michael's wife reassured them that they had no concerns: The government had frozen transactions, but the Bolts' investment was making money, Donna said.

"Excuse after excuse," Donna summarized Natalie's replies. "Lie, after lie, after lie."

In 2019, while investors were waiting on their money, Eddie Bolt said Natalie had told her family and Michael's family that she had been diagnosed with cancer. Later, she said that it was gone. Then, she said, the cancer had returned.

Meanwhile, according to federal prosecutors, Michael and Natalie were spending investors' money. The couple bought a 1965 Shelby Cobra and other vehicles, jewelry, a hangar at Raleigh County Memorial Airport and properties.

Natalie and her attorneys have challenged the idea that Natalie alone was running the scam.

Natalie's bankruptcy attorney, Robert Dunlap, reported in August 2019 that Michael led the business dealings.

At her sentencing hearing, Natalie also suggested that Michael was responsible for the excessive spending.

She implied that many of her decisions had been made to appease Michael.

"He was my everything," she said. She also suggested he was a mercurial figure in the Cochran home.

She said that Michael had struggled with substance abuse disorder and misuse of steroids and that the Bolts had intervened to get help for Michael.

"He was loving one minute," Natalie said. "(He took a) sledgehammer to the furniture, the next.

"To protect the kids, I started to get in the attitude where I would always give in to him.

 "When he had money, money made him happy," she said. "But enough was never enough."

She had reported earlier that Michael had been ill and that he had been hospitalized twice in the months leading to his death.

Natalie's attorney, Rhett Johnson, said in March that the 4-H Lake Road house, where Michael became ill, was bought for Michael. He said that Natalie cannot drive manual vehicles, but the vehicles had manual transmissions.

"What did Natalie really get out of all this?" he asked. "She took her family out to eat.

"She took one vacation."

He added she got a "modest amount of jewelry."

To explain the jewelry purchases, Natalie said Michael had given her jewelry as an apology for trying to run over her with his truck.

Investors at Natalie's sentencing, however, reported that Natalie had approached them to invest.

By early February 2019, Hatfield said, Michael's parents had not been paid, prompting him to ask more insistent questions about the businesses. He became suddenly ill during that time.

Hatfield declined to explain to the public how Michael had died.

On the day he became ill, Natalie said, he had a seizure at home. She provided care for Michael in the hours following the seizure.

Several adults came into the house during that time, including contractors and a local couple, physician's assistant Stephanie Hamilton and her husband, State Trooper J.D. Hamilton, both of whom were also victims of the Ponzi scheme.

Natalie reportedly told the couple that she was providing adequate medical care for Michael at home.

Later on Feb. 6, Natalie called local attorney Chris Davis, the Cochrans' neighbor and family friend, to the Cochran house.

Davis, not Natalie, arranged for Michael to be transported to Raleigh General Hospital for care, according to authorities. Michael was later transferred to Charleston Area Medical Center.

Donna Bolt alleged that Natalie was operating the Ponzi scheme from Michael's hospital room.

"While my precious son lay helpless in the hospital, she was sending documents to fool us," Donna charged. "She didn't care about anything, or anyone.

"Not even Michael, as he lay dying."

Natalie told The Register-Herald in August 2019 that she sent Michael to Bowers Hospice House, where he died on Feb. 11.

The state medical examiner initially listed his manner of death as "natural," which is common with hospice deaths.

Raleigh Circuit Court Judge H.L. Kirkpatrick ordered that Michael's body be exhumed in September 2019. WVVA reported that Michael's death certificate was changed and now lists his manner of death as "undetermined."

Family members of Michael told local media that Natalie had held a rush memorial service after Michael's death. His father, Michael Cochran, did not get invited to attend.

Natalie responded in August by saying that she had acted on Michael's wishes for a private service.

After Michael's death, Natalie awarded college scholarships to a number of graduating seniors in Raleigh County, including her niece and one of Michael's relatives.

Many of the students canceled existing scholarships in order to accept the ones promised by Natalie, but none of Natalie's scholarships were ever actually paid.

Natalie had not been charged in connection with a crime in that case, West Virginia State Police acknowledged in September 2019.

Private investigator James Quesenberry, a member of the private Shady Spring Middle School Baseball league, had first reported in August 2019 that Natalie had served as team treasurer from October 2018 until June 2019.

He said that financial records showed she began making unauthorized withdrawals from the league account in December 2018. He said that she made a higher than usual number of withdrawals from the account starting on Feb. 5, 2019, until Feb. 25, 2019, when checks started to bounce. 

In Michael's obituary, Natalie asked that mourners make donations to Shady Spring Middle School Baseball.

During her time as treasurer, Natalie and Michael had accused former board members of embezzlement. A State Police investigation did not lead to arrests, and those accused by the Cochrans have since said they had suffered embarrassment because of the allegations.

Donna and Eddie Bolt said in March that they do not believe that Michael knew Natalie had stolen from them. They also do not believe that he would have participated in taking their life savings and placing a financial hardship on them at the time they were planning to retire, they said.

"We kept quiet, as Natalie tried to blame Michael for her evilness," said Donna.

Eddie said that he loved Natalie and that he had felt proud of her when he believed she was running a successful business. Since then, he has chosen to forgive her but said her actions have led to devastating financial loss for the Bolts.

"Trying to imply he had a part in stealing from his mother and me is more untruth," Eddie Bolt said. "Michael would want us to see that she is held accountable."