'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tonight's Dateline episode, dated April 25, 2025, follows the case of Michael Cochran's murder and the conviction of his wife, Natalie Cochran. At the time Natalie was charged, she was already serving a sentence for running fraudulent activities. Before Michael Cochran's death, the couple had registered a new company, Tactical Solutions Group (TSG), in 2017.
However, their rapid rise in financial status after opening the company raised some eyebrows. An investigation was launched into the company, and it was revealed that Natalie was running a Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment scheme that promises investors unusually high rates of return.
What is a Ponzi Scheme?
Trending
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment scheme that generates returns for early investors from their own money or the money acquired from the payment of subsequent investors. The returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises require a rising flow of money from investors, which ultimately cannot happen.
The Ponzi scheme attracts investors by offering unusually high returns that others cannot guarantee. However, the promoter of the scheme inadvertently cannot keep the promise of paying what was advertised, and they then disappear with the remaining money. When these schemes come to the authorities' attention, they can shut them down before the promoter can disappear, and hold them responsible.
Was Natalie Cochran running a Ponzi scheme?
Yes, Natalie was running a Ponzi scheme through the Cochran couple's newly registered company, Tactical Solutions Group (TSG). The company was supposedly focused on bidding on contracts to sell weapons to the U.S. government.
Cochran encouraged her friends and family to invest money in her company, convincing them to make huge investments and promising them equally large returns, as per an ABC News report. Natalie and Michael's new business was, by outward appearance, thriving, and the couple altered their lifestyle within months.
However, it all started to come apart when an investigation was launched into funds missing from a middle school baseball league where Natalie was the treasurer. This raised concerns among members of the league who had become suspicious of the whole thing. Moreover, these people had also invested in Natalie and Michael's business.
When investors started raising their concerns about the returns they were promised, Natalie came up with various excuses for the delayed payments. By then, everyone had started becoming suspicious of the whole affair, and an investigation was launched, which revealed a shocking truth.
There were no government contracts or any bids, and the company only existed on paper. It was clearly a Ponzi scheme, as there was no way in which any money was being generated.
How did Michael Cochran die?
Although it was clear that Natalie was running a Ponzi scheme, investigators believed Michael Cochran was unaware of it. On the morning of February 6, 2019, Natalie said she was down with the flu, and Michael was also very sick.
Initially, she did not take her husband to the hospital and downplayed his sickness. But when Michael Cochran became unresponsive and his situation rapidly deteriorated, he was finally taken to a nearby hospital.
It was diagnosed that he was suffering from cerebral edema, and his blood glucose level was dangerously low, as per ABC News. Michael Cochran did not respond to any treatment, and he passed away at a hospice in Beckley, West Virginia, on February 11, 2019.
Following her husband's death, Natalie decided to sell nearly half of Tactical Solutions Group for $4 million. However, this sale did not go through, as on June 25, 2019, the police had executed a search warrant on the Cochran residence.
Following investigations, Natalie was faced with 26 charges related to fraud. In 2020, she eventually pleaded guilty to an unlawful monetary transaction and to wire fraud and was sentenced to 11 years. She was also ordered to pay back the $2.5 million she stole from investors.
Once the Ponzi scheme investigations were cleared, authorities delved into the case of Michael Cochran's death. A vial of insulin in the fridge of the Cochran residence raised suspicions and led investigators to dig deeper.
It was discovered that an insulin overdose caused Michael's death, and Natalie was indicted for it in November 2021. In January 2025, Natalie Cochran was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Michael Cochran.
Catch tonight's Dateline episode for more about the case.
