Chris Davis
Appearances
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
He really, really wanted to fly, and he loved that type of stuff. He was working on his pilots. Now, he wanted to fly helicopters.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
We had a fundraiser, and from the fundraiser, we believe we raised a little over $15,000. It was a big deal.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
I said, in pure West Virginian, this ain't good. I really felt in my heart something was going on.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
There were never any contracts. There were never any bids. It doesn't exist.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
not about the business. He was stressed about the government. He did not understand why the government will not give them their money, and he just couldn't figure it out. How can they do this?
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
We were all pretty devastated. To the point, we all get the paperwork to go get our bone marrow tested to see if there was any way we could help her.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Yeah. And my reaction in the text was, is he OK? What's going on? He's fine. The contractors are here putting him on the couch. OK.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
The wording of the messages were as if she was communicating with him. He won't go to the hospital. Oh. He won't go to the hospital. Yes. When she says, he won't go to the hospital, in my mind, I'm thinking that he's told her, I'm going to the hospital.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
I get a message at around 6.30. I'm at Gavin's basketball game. And the message says, can you come by after the game?
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
I knew something was wrong. He's just totally unresponsive. I was like, well, he's got to go. He's got to go to the hospital.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
She makes this decision. You know, she's going to take him off the ventilator and everything.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
The judge said, if I can give you more, I would. He acknowledged the fact that the lawyers had reached this plea agreement and had capped what he could have done to her. So no, at that moment, I didn't believe it was fair. And just as I told the judge, there's 2.5 million reasons why it wasn't fair.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
They were a great couple. They loved each other. They always wanted to be together.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
The investigator said, did she ever borrow insulin from you? And that's when Jennifer was like, yeah, she needed it. She had cancer and she got sick. And that's when they were like, you know when? And... I felt like at that moment, we both were like, oh my goodness. Because now we know that she's a thief and a fraud.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
He loved sports, and that was probably our biggest connection. Our family, you see their family at games, and that's really how it got started is just loving sports and hanging out.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Yes, and I walk in the living room. He's laying on the couch like he's sleeping. What did you do? So I go over to him. I just remember saying, ma'am, hey, buddy, we'll take you to the hospital. And that's exactly what I did.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Oh, yes. Mike and I, we won a lot of championships together coaching our kids.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
It was really the family aspect. They were a great couple. They loved each other. They always wanted to be together. We gravitate toward friends who are always together and love their spouses, because we're always together.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Not once they talked to us. And then I started going back through, you know, my text. And, you know, Chris and I started talking. And then I was just in shock, disbelief. I was still in shock. It just doesn't seem real at all.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Initially, it's very grim because it's, hey, this is what this is. It's never going to change. And this is what it's going to require.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Oh, absolutely. He took his supplements, his pre-workouts, and those things. He tried to take care of his body.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Mike wasn't a bodybuilder. He ate too much pizza to be a bodybuilder. Was he fit? He was. Was he in shape? He was. Did he work hard for that? He did.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
And that's the exact same thing she used. and borrowed from me. And that's hard. And that's something I'll have to live with.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
She was heavily involved in that because Mike was a coach. They were involved in tons of leagues and different things.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Investigators look at you and say, there were never any contracts. There were never any bids. It doesn't exist.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
They were building onto their house, and they put up a new fence. Mike got a car.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
They got this niche. A woman-owned small business. The idea of the federal government will pay $50 for a $10 hammer. You just got to be able to get in there and get the contracts and fight with the big guys.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
But it was more than just, hey, do you want to invest? There were supposed to be dental facilities on military bases. That's why we couldn't see any of the documents. Because she knew I was going to ask that. I was like, what's the content? Well, you can't see it. You don't have authorization. We can't do that because the Department of Defense. And so we were like, sure. Yeah, man, we'll help out.
20/20
Small Town, Big Con
Absolutely. The names that were lining up, it fit like, OK, these people aren't going to do anything crazy.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Tonight on Dateline. We received a text message. He's collapsed, hit his head on the counter, and he's had a seizure. I don't really know what is going on, but I know it's bad.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
It wasn't her excuses wasn't, you know, the dog ate my homework or that, you know, the cookie monster. Her husband has died. Yeah. And so these facts kind of laid out with each other. You know, you're like, OK.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
I don't know where they got the idea. I know that they referenced the movie War Dogs, which dealt with government contracting.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
They went to Europe, Hawaii, the baseball World Series, college World Series.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
As you go through March and you get into April and you start questioning her more about, hey, I don't understand, why is this return not coming?
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
It did. It made it feel a lot more secure. because it was family. Family and friends around here blends a lot. So, you know, it was very comfortable. It wasn't a business transaction.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
The federal government doesn't come knock on your door just because they're not busy.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
There's something seriously going on, seriously wrong, and this is not good.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Basically, as I'm looking at you, they go, there were no contracts.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
And you kind of look back, and I'm going to need you to say that one more time. What did you say? There were no contracts.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Like, you couldn't find any? No. Or they don't exist. They never existed. That's like one giant gut punch. It is.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
It all really came together at really kind of one moment. Not only was she lying about money, oh my goodness, this is just too, this is not a coincidence. And so it all kind of, hit us at once.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
This is a spreadsheet to represent what the company was doing and the success of the company. This whole document is fake. Total expense, profit, payouts, the factor fees, none of it's true. You know, the saying is devil's in the details. Well, the devil was all in this.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
No. There's people in my life now that are friends that I would never think they would ever do this. And she would have been in that category for us. This is the ultimate betrayal. Sure, yeah.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Well, they didn't exist, and so basically they're for nothing. The people who were given scholarships received nothing.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
That contract is the last thing I'll ever buy from her. At this point in time, She's a total fraud.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
We received a text message saying that he's collapsed, hit his head on the counter, and he's had a seizure. For me personally at the moment, it was really like, what does he need? Like, what do you need me to do? Do you rush over there? No, no, because she says the contractors are here and they've got him on the couch. He's resting.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
And he's snoring. So that's the other thing. It's like he's not like, he's not laboring when he's breathing, you know, but he's not responding. He's...
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Yeah, like, I don't really know what is going on, but I know it's bad. I go to him, and I'm now standing over him, and I'm talking to him. I'm like, you know, hey, man, hey, bud, hey, you need to wake up. You got to give me something, buddy. You got to give me something. And so I'm kind of pushing him, nudging him a little bit.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Yes. Well, what I'm thinking is even quicker than calling 911. I'm going to take him to the hospital now. I promise you. I'll have him there quicker than an ambulance, you know. Do you end up taking him?
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
It was clear that something was wrong. And I was like, he's got to go to the hospital. I remember a question is, you really think he should go? Yes, he needs to go and he's going to go now. And I'm going to take him. And that's exactly what I did.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
They take him in to the emergency room, and they go down to almost the last room on the left, and they go in there. And so they pull the curtain. To me, it seemed like maybe five or ten minutes later, they pull back the curtain, And he's on a ventilator. Oh my, wow. And that's when I knew, like, what is going on?
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
And when they did... I'm going to need you to say that one more time. What did you say?
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
You know, the saying is, devil's in the details. Well, the devil was all in this.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Mike was a, he was a very strong man. He's a good man. He wasn't sick. He wasn't ready to die.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
And so, you know, we usually had the same focus and desire for the outcomes of the sporting events we were at. You know, we wanted to win, and that's probably the connection.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Absolutely. I mean, it's life developing and memories being made.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Yes, everything has been a lie. You know, the saying is devil's in the details.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Absolutely. So they were doing Department of Defense, all their contracts, Department of Defense.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
He knew faith was important. He knew it was important to me. And so my goodbye is more about, I'll see you again. I'll see you in heaven. It's all in God's will.
Dateline NBC
The Devil's in the Details
Mike had general health problems that we all have as we age, per se. But Mike was healthy. Mike was, he was fit. He's coaching. He's out there. He's doing everything that I'm doing.
True Crime with Kendall Rae
Insulin Poisoning Ponzi Scheme Cover-Up?! The Case of Michael & Natalie Cochran
No, he did not.
True Crime with Kendall Rae
Insulin Poisoning Ponzi Scheme Cover-Up?! The Case of Michael & Natalie Cochran
Because in February of 2019, he was unresponsive. In November of 2018, he was talking to me, vomiting. and participating in wanting to go to the hospital.
True Crime with Kendall Rae
Insulin Poisoning Ponzi Scheme Cover-Up?! The Case of Michael & Natalie Cochran
Mike was one of my best friends. And, you know, we did a lot together and spent a lot of time together.
True Crime with Kendall Rae
Insulin Poisoning Ponzi Scheme Cover-Up?! The Case of Michael & Natalie Cochran
Mike was a, he was a very strong man. He's a good man. And he would want, he would want me to be strong now as well. And he was a good man. A very good man. He loved his family. He took care of his family. He loved life. He wasn't sick. He wasn't ready to die. He was healthy even up until the day he died.