Evan Montvel Cohen (born 1966) is an American businessman living on the island of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

. He was a founder and the first chairman of the liberal Air America Radio. Cohen has worked primarily in the broadcasting industry and in politics.

Early life

Montvel Cohen attended

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, during the 1980s. Prior to Air America, Cohen was a major shareholder of ''Latte Publishing'', a Guam-based publishing company, was a vice president at Sorensen Pacific Broadcasting, and a

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Ma ...

specialist in Guam. He also owned The Communications Corp and many other businesses. Montvel Cohen also invested in several Asian ad agencies and media businesses in the mid and late 1990s. Cohen also participated in political campaigns as a consultant and chairman of a political action committee.Foerstel, Karen. De la Garza Names 25-Year Aide As Staff Director on Ag. ''

Roll Call ''Roll Call'' is a newspaper and website published in Washington, D.C., United States, when the United States Congress is in session, reporting news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of ...

'', March 12, 1990

Air America

In 2003, Cohen was working as Director of Development for the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs when he and business partner

Rex Sorensen Rex Sorensen (1943 – March 10, 2019) was the chairman and CEO of Sorensen Media Group. He was a founding board member of Air America Radio. Biography Sorensen was a graduate of the University of Oregon and was a Certified Public Accountant. So ...

, CEO of Sorensen Media Group, created Progress Media Inc. On March 31, 2004, Air America was launched with much fanfare on flagship WLIB in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Soon afterward it was discovered that Cohen had secured part of the money used to found the network by a loan from his employer, the

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs. Approved by the board of directors and in the amount of $480,000, it went to Cohen's company Progress Media, then owner of Air America Radio. The Gloria Wise group was a non-profit organization, partially funded by the city of New York, which provided services for children and seniors in the Bronx. The city suspended further funding of the agency, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America revoked the group's right to use their name, likeness or logo. When the funds were transferred Evan Montvel Cohen was still Director of Development for Gloria Wise. This was part of a larger misappropriation of funds by the organization's executives, which saw several of them receiving money from the organization that was in turn used for personal expenditures. By the time this was revealed, Progress Media Inc. had sold its Air America rights to Piquant LLC (in November 2004), who subsequently agreed to repay Gloria Wise $875,000 worth of the debt, as a condition of the sale.

Lotus Media Services

Cohen is the managing director for Sorensen Media Group and Chairman of Lotus Media Services.www.pacificnewscenter.com
Youth Rock - Battle Of The Bands Hits Guam This Week Lotus Media Services is a creative content development and production house providing radio and television content for the

Pacific Rim The Pacific Rim comprises the lands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean. The '' Pacific Basin'' includes the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific Rim roughly overlaps with the geologic Pacific Ring of Fire. List of ...

and the U.S.. In 2007 Montvel-Cohen began focusing mainly on TV and web video content development, Cohen developed the TV programs “GU MD”, “The Buzz”, and “TimeOut” and more than 15 other programs and hundreds of online video segments. Montvel Cohen and Sorensen have partnered with MTV Philippines and ABS-CBN Corporation - the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines to create television programming for Guam and other media markets.

2008 arrest

Cohen was arrested in Guam on May 26, 2008 after being indicted by a grand jury in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

for theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, forgery, and money laundering. He was extradited from Guam to Hawaii and subsequently released on bail. In 2009, Cohen pleaded no contest (guilty) to one count and the other charges were dropped. In his plea agreement, he was sentenced to five years probation and continued to run his company. Montvel-Cohen is currently splitting his time between Guam and Brooklyn, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Evan Montvel 1966 births 20th-century Sephardi Jews 21st-century Sephardi Jews Living people Guamanian Jews Beloit College alumni American radio executives Guamanian businesspeople People extradited within the United States