Eric Christopher Conn isn’t your average lawyer. Nothing he did was all in a day’s work. He went above and beyond the law and what it allows even attorneys to do – ethically. Conn bribed a judge and a doctor. Both, in turn, rubber-stamped disability claims. The doctor applied creative license to medical claims, fabricating evidence. Yet another doctor approved claims and did so frequently, not even with a hearing.
The federal government reviewed the Social Security disability of roughly 1,500 people granted benefits with Conn’s representation. Approximately 800 people, in impoverished eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, lost benefits following the government’s review.
Attorney Conn pleaded guilty and struck a deal
The 56-year-old Kentucky attorney pleaded guilty in March to an elaborate Social Security and healthcare benefits fraud scheme that he initiated, designed, and orchestrated. He garnered $550 million illegally, according to Leslie R. Caldwell, Assistant Attorney General. He also agreed, in a plea deal, to reimburse $46 million he stole from the Social Security Administration and to pay $5.7 million to the federal government.
Conn was additionally ordered, by a federal judge, to pay the government $19 million in damages, along with $19 million in penalties – to the government and to two former employees at Social Security. The employees tried exposing Conn’s fraud scheme.
A hearing, scheduled for later in June, is scheduled to determine damages resulting from his former clients, who have brought a class action lawsuit against the disability claims attorney.
The lawyer representing the attorney’s former clients, Ned Pillersdorf, said that it was predicable that Conn would flee when it was being assessed whether he was a flight risk.
Pillersdorf said he was shocked that Conn was allowed bond following his arrest in light of frequently travelling the world. It wasn’t a question of if he would flee but when, according to Pillersdorf, who also stated that there was a betting pool. The class action petitioners feel overwhelming anger toward Conn.
Problem in sentencing Conn
He was designated to be sentenced in July. There’s a serious problem with that. Conn breached conditions of his bond, according to the Louisville, KY, FBI. An arrest warrant has been issued by the United States District Court. Authorities don’t know Conn’s whereabouts; he had an electronic monitoring device and was under house arrest, until he removed the monitoring device on Saturday. David Habich is general counsel for the FBI, Louisville. He said Conn’s whereabouts are presently unknown.
Trey Alford, a federal prosecutor, argued after the attorney’s April 2016 arrest that Conn should remain in jail and not be released, pending his trial. Alford cautioned that Conn was a flight risk.
His contention was premised on statements by the employees in Conn’s law office. They stated that they heard him when he said he would flee. To avoid criminal charges, they said, Ecuador or Cuba were his most probable destinations. Alford testified at the hearing that Conn was capable of fleeing to wherever he wired and stashed money.
Scott White, who is Conn’s attorney, said he is concerned about his client, as he is praying he does “the right thing” and will turn himself in since it’s not too late. The FBI asks that anyone with information about Eric Conn call (502) 236-6000.
