Pennsylvania Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Forging a Federal Judge’s Signature on Fake Orders for a Client

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

Clients should be able to trust that a "court order" from their lawyer is real. On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced that Michael Brandon Cohen, 41, of Hollidaysburg, had pleaded guilty on July 25, 2025, to two counts of forging the signature of a United States District Judge [1].

Status: Cohen pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines. Sentencing was scheduled for Nov. 18, 2025. Confirm the judgment for the final sentence [1].

What the court was advised

According to the plea colloquy summary [1]:

1. In 2022 Cohen was licensed in Pennsylvania and the Middle District of Pennsylvania. He told a client he had filed a civil lawsuit against a healthcare company but never filed it.
2. On May 18 and Oct. 13, 2022, he sent the client fake orders purportedly from Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann awarding sanctions and fees, bearing the Chief Judge's electronic signature. Chief Judge Brann never issued the orders; Cohen forged the signature.

The person who pleaded guilty

Michael Brandon Cohen, 41, Hollidaysburg, Pa. Lawyer. Pleaded guilty to two counts of forging a U.S. District Judge's signature; sentencing was set for Nov. 18, 2025 [1].

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Michael Brandon Cohen, 41, Hollidaysburg, Pa.	U.S. District Court, W.D. Pa. (Judge Stephanie L. Haines)	Pleaded guilty July 25, 2025; sentencing was set for Nov. 18, 2025	[1]

Confirm the judgment for the final sentence.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania, "Hollidaysburg Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Forging U.S. District Judge’s Signature," July 29, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/hollidaysburg-lawyer-pleads-guilty-forging-us-district-judges-signature