Jeffrey Paul Cochran has pled guilty to charges that he conned the Farmington, Pa., resort out of $16,146 in free lodging and amenities by claiming to be a heart surgeon and setting up a house account to be paid by another fictitious physician.
A Michigan man who police said impersonated a doctor to con Nemacolin Woodlands Resort out of $16,146 in free lodging and amenities entered guilty pleas on March 3 to charges of theft by deception and theft of services, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.
In exchange, prosecutors have recommended Jeffrey Paul Cochran be banned permanently from the Farmington, Pa., resort, make restitution, and serve three to 23 months in jail. Cochran, 41, entered the pleas during a brief appearance before Judge Linda Cordaro. He was remanded to the Fayette County jail to await sentencing at a later date, the Tribune-Review reported.
State police said Cochran passed himself off as a heart surgeon and golf pro during a stay from May 15 to 28 at the resort. He posed as a Uniontown Hospital doctor to persuade the resort to set up a house account that was to be paid by another fictitious physician. He absconded out a back door when employees caught on to the ploy, police said, leaving an unpaid bill of $16,146 for food, lodging and golfing, the Tribune-Review reported.
Court records show Cochran has been accused of impersonating a doctor at least three times to secure free lodging and amenities. In Butler County, Penn Township police charged him with theft by deception, theft of services, falsely impersonating persons privately employed, identity theft and forgery for a similar scheme. They said Cochran impersonated a doctor at Conley Resort in Butler County to eat, sleep and play golf for free between July 9 and 14, the Tribune-Review reported.
According to a criminal complaint, the resort booked Cochran at its hotel at the request of a man who called on July 5 claiming to be a “Dr. Anderson” from Butler Hospital. The caller identified Cochran as a physician who was interviewing for director of the hospital’s cardiology unit and directed the resort to bill Butler Hospital for Cochran’s expenses, police said. Cochran arrived July 9 and stayed through July 14, leaving an unpaid bill of $1,213 that was charged to the hospital, the Tribune-Review reported.
Cochran is to appear March 18 before District Judge Sue Haggerty in Butler County for a preliminary hearing on the charges. In Nebraska, Cochran is wanted on an arrest warrant for allegedly conning a Lincoln hotel out of $3,182 in 2013, according to court records, the Tribune-Review reported.
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