The investigation into a multimillion-dollar con in a close-knit community helps investigators uncover the murder of a young father. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
Tonight, the trial so many have been talking about with details you haven't heard until now.
It was just greed, more greed, more greed after that.
What is this weird nightmare that's visited upon this couple? She's sick and now he's dying. For him to just go from being fine to suddenly comatose. What happened? What happened?
They were a great couple. They loved each other. They always wanted to be together.
Two people with no background in federal contracting. Suddenly they're going to be arms dealers for the federal government.
They were trusted in the community. A lot of the investors were family and close friends.
Had Michael expressed any doubts about the business?
The Cochran business model seemed to be built on defrauding their friends and family.
Investigators look at you and say, there were never any contracts. There were never any bids. It doesn't exist.
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Chapter 2: Who were Michael and Natalie Cochran?
Yes, there should have been over $20,000 in there.
Absolutely. Any idea of how it was drained like that?
Nobody knew it was missing until we were told it's missing.
The league brings in a private investigator to look into where the money's gone.
I talked to the board and I explained to them, you don't have anything but $31 in a frozen bank account. There's no records of anything as to where this money went. It's all spent.
There was an audit that was done. There were purchases made that weren't approved by the league.
And there was purchases to TJ Maxx, purchases to Olive Garden. And then when I started adding it up, I'm like, $32,000 in one night you raise for two sports teams, and it all just disappears. I mean, there's no way to rectify that.
Questions are now swirling over the missing money and if Natalie could be involved. And when some investors with the Cochran's business get wind of it, they're getting concerned about the money they've been promised. As time is going on and you're not hearing anything, are you starting to panic at all?
We'd ask. I'd say, Natalie, we need our money. I said, you know, our car's going to break down. We need the money back. She would say, it's coming, I promise. And then she would send me text messages and say, your money is going to be deposited in your bank account within the next 24 hours. And we'd wait. And it was never there. You didn't get anything? No.
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