WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced July 14 that a Social Security disability lawyer was sentenced in federal court over his alleged role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain more than $550 million in federal disability payments from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to allegations, Eric Christopher Conn of Pikeville, Kentucky, participated in a scheme from 2004 to 2016 that involved falsified medical documents sent to the SSA. Conn was ordered to pay $106 million in restitution but has fled from federal custody and remains a fugitive.
Making the announcement for the Justice Department were acting assistant attorney general Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, special agent in charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration-Office of Inspector General’s (SSA-OIG) Philadelphia Field Division, special agent in charge Amy S. Hess of the FBI’s Louisville Field Division, special agent in charge Tracey D. Montaño of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Nashville Field Office; and special agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Atlanta Regional Office.
