Disability Lawyer in $600M Fraud Case Disappears

A disability lawyer who pleaded guilty to defrauding the government out of $600 million with fake disability claims has gone missing after removing his electronic monitoring bracelet. Eric Conn had been scheduled for sentencing next month, and was ordered to pay the federal government tens of millions of dollars for his fraudulent disability scheme. But the FBI said Saturday that Conn’s “whereabouts are currently unknown” after he apparently removed his electronic monitoring device. A warrant for his arrest has subsequently been issued. Conn, a well-known disability lawyer in eastern Kentucky, began operating his practice out of a trailer park in 1993 before gaining prominence as “Mr. Social Security.” But after falling under suspicion from federal investigators, Conn admitted to falsifying “well over” 1,700 applications for disability benefits. He’d been bribing a doctor to make false medical claims to support his cases. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay the federal government $5.7 million and the Social Security Administration $46 million. A federal judge also ordered him to pay $19 million in penalties and $12 million in damages. Conn was also facing a class-action liability suit from his former clients who fell victim to the fraud scheme.