Fugitive Lawyer Jailed for 12 Years in $550M Social Security Disability Benefits Scheme
A former Social Security disability lawyer who was on the run for nearly a year has been captured and arraigned on charges stemming from his escape from home confinement and failure to appear for sentencing. Eric Christopher Conn, 57, of Pikeville, Kentucky, is facing 12 years in prison for his role in a $550 million social security disability benefits scheme.
Conn was apprehended in Honduras on December 2, 2017, and was returned to the United States. He immediately began serving his previously imposed 12-year prison sentence, which was ordered in his absence in June 2017.
The indictment charges Conn with one count of conspiracy to escape, one count of conspiracy relating to Conn’s failure to appear for his sentencing, one count of escape, and one count of failing to appear. Conn entered pleas of not guilty to the charges.
The scheme, which involved Conn and several accomplices, defrauded the government out of over $550 million in disability benefits. Conn and his accomplices submitted false and fraudulent medical documentation to the SSA in order to have the SSA pay claimants’ retroactive disability benefits, continue to pay claimants’ disability benefits in the future, award Medicare and Medicaid benefits to claimants, and pay Conn’s attorney fees.
Conn previously pleaded guilty to two federal offenses in March 2017 and was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison in July 2017. Although Conn began serving his 12-year sentence, he remains charged under the original indictment.
Conn’s accomplices, including Curtis Lee Wyatt, are also charged in connection with Conn’s escape. The trial for Wyatt and Conn is scheduled to begin on February 12, 2018.
The investigation into the scheme was conducted by the FBI’s Louisville Field Division and the Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General.
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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