Lang
11/26/21
A former immigration attorney arrested in Iowa City after allegedly fabricating a positive COVID-19 test from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics now faces new charges after allegedly forging previous COVID tests months earlier.
41-year-old Emily Cohen was booked into the Johnson County jail on November 2nd on a detainer from Boulder County. Prosecutors in Colorado say she sent a forged positive COVID test to a judge so she could get out of an in-person case management conference.
The Daily Camera newspaper reports that Cohen is scheduled for a 10-day trial in Boulder County on Dec. 6 for 11 felony theft counts. She allegedly collected tens of thousands of dollars in fees from immigrant families before losing contact with them without producing visas or work permits.
According to the Cedar Rapids Gazette, this week Cohen was charged with three counts of Forgery and three counts of Attempting to Influence a Public Servant for Purporting to be COVID-19 Positive. Investigators say Cohen got out of earlier court dates by providing two forged positive COVID tests in July. She then allegedly provided a third positive test from the UIHC to get out of an in-person court appearance on November 1st. The length of time between the positive tests led investigators to contact the UIHC about the third test. Hospital officials confirmed the test results had been forged.
Once in custody, Cohen allegedly tweeted claims of innocence, including what she claimed was a positive test from another UIHC provider and another from Walgreen’s. A COVID test at the Johnson County Jail showed negative results.
Cohen remains in the Johnson County Jail awaiting extradition. Colorado law enforcement officials say she gave them two different Iowa City addresses as her current residence.