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U.S. NEWS Monday 26 June 2017
Fugitive lawyer says he’s fled

the U.S. using fake passport

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A His empire crumbled when million. A federal judge or-
fugitive Kentucky lawyer at federal investigators un- dered Conn to pay $12 mil-
the center of a nearly $600 covered he had been brib- lion in damages and $19
million Social Security fraud ing a doctor and judge to million in penalties to the
case has fled the coun- approve disability claims government and two for-
try using a fake passport based on fake medical evi- mer Social Security employ-
and has gotten help from dence. ees who tried to expose
someone overseas with a As part of his plea deal in the scheme. Conn also is In this Oct 7, 2013 file photo, attorney Eric Conn gestures as he
job to help support himself. March, he agreed to pay facing a liability judgment invokes his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination
The flamboyant disabil- the federal government from a class-action lawsuit during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
ity lawyer Eric Conn, in an $5.7 million and to reim- brought by his former cli- committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.
email exchange with The burse Social Security $46 ents. Associated Press
Lexington Herald-Lead-
er over the weekend, told
the paper he flew to a
country that does not have
an extradition agreement
with the U.S.
The paper reported Sun-
day that it tried to verify
Conn’s identity by asking
him questions that only he
could answer, including
his Social Security number,
which it obtained from
court documents, and de-
tails about one of his mar-
riages. He answered cor-
rectly, the paper said.
Scott White, Conn’s at-
torney, said that he also
received emails that origi-
nated from the same ad-
dress and from a person he
believed to be Conn.
Many believed that Conn,
who fled home detention
on June 2, had stashed
money overseas to live on
but the email said that was
not the case.
“The money I sent overseas
was money that has long
since been spent,” Conn
wrote.A person claiming to
be Conn has sent the news-
paper several emails since
fleeing. Unlike the latest
emails, it was not possible
to reply to the initial emails,
the paper reported.
The FBI did not respond to
a request Sunday seeking
comment on whether it
believes the latest emails
are from Conn.
Conn started his law prac-
tice in a trailer in 1993 and
built it into one of the most
lucrative disability law firms
in the country.
He portrayed himself as
“Mr. Social Security,” a per-
sona fueled by outlandish
TV commercials and small-
scale replicas of the Statue
of Liberty and the Lincoln
Memorial at his office in
eastern Kentucky.