Hattiesburg, Miss. - Cory Dalton Cochran, 40, of Wayne County, Mississippi, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett to one count of making counterfeit currency and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Special Agent in Charge Michael Williams of the United States Secret Service.
An investigation by the United States Secret Service and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office identified Cochran as an individual who had been making and passing counterfeit United States currency. On Sept. 14, 2017, a Field Agent from the Mississippi Department of Corrections made a routine home visit to the residence of Cochran, who was on probation from a prior felony conviction. During the course of the home visit, the agent saw what appeared to be counterfeit currency in plain view. Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputies assisted by securing the residence and obtaining a search warrant. The United States Secret Service assisted in conducting the search of the residence, which yielded counterfeit currency in multiple denominations, unfinished counterfeit currency, and other items related to the making of counterfeit currency. Agents also found a firearm leaning against the wall in a room next to where the counterfeit currency was being made by Cochran. Cochran is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm based on his prior felony convictions in Wayne County, Mississippi and in Georgia.
Cochran will be sentenced by Judge Starrett on Sept. 18, 2018, and faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in federal prison and $500,000 in fines.
The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dave Fulcher.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
