Summary: The FBI is offering a big reward to whoever helps them find “Mr. Social Security.”
Where in the world is, Mr. Social Security? That’s a question authorities are asking, and they’re willing to pay $20,000 for any information that leads to his arrest.
Mr. Social Security, a.k.a. Eric C. Conn of Kentucky, pled guilty in March to bribing a judge and stealing almost $600 million from the Social Security Administration. He was out on bond and expected to appear in court next month for sentencing before he went rogue.
Media outlets and attorneys claim they have received messages from Conn, who had removed his tracking bracelet and has been missing for almost a week. According to the Herald-Leader, Conn disappeared because he reportedly believed it was unfair that he faced more prison time than two others involved in his fraud scheme.
WKYT said that Conn’s attorney Scott White believes the mysterious emails are actually from his fugitive client. The emails stated what conditions the FBI needed to provide in order for Conn to turn himself in.
“There is now no doubt in my mind that Eric was the author of the two emails, and had read the story that was online,” White said.
White said that the emails had details in them that only Conn would know, such as information about his ankle monitor. The FBI said that they had found Conn’s ankle monitor in a backpack on the side of the road.
In Conn’s alleged email, WYMT wrote that he said he wanted the following conditions: “the terms of surrender be made available for public review and discussion; that the FBI publicly state Conn fled because he found it unfair that others in the case will receive a combined sentence less than his; that the FBI publicly acknowledge Conn has no history of violence and that a caution they issued to members of the public was not based on a specific concern; and finally, that the FBI not charge him with additional crimes related to him fleeing.”
Conn was a well-known social security lawyer in Kentucky and around the country, thanks to his appearances in commercials touting himself as “Mr. Social Security.” In 1993, he formed his own practice in a trailer in Stanville, Kentucky; and he grew that business into the third most lucrative disability firm in the nation, bringing in more than $20 million in fees from 2001 to 2013. He was well known for his colorful billboards and outrageous TV ads, which often featured models and bikini girls.
Conn’s practice busted when he, a doctor, and a judge were discovered to have created an intricate scheme using their knowledge and positions to fraudulently take $600 million from the federal government.
Conn was expected to be sentenced in June, but his escape has caused some locals to express their annoyance.
“People are getting tired of him,” Beverly Williamson said to WYMT. “They want to get it over with. They want to have the case solved… Everybody knows what he did and they just want the whole thing over with.”
- “Mr. Social Security” Indicted for Disability Fraud Charges
- “Conn-Attorney” Guilty to Fake Disability Benefits Scheme
- Social Security Lawyer Who Stole $600 Million Disappears
Photo courtesy of Kentucky