Conn’s Hotties are no more, as Eastern Kentucky lawyer Eric Conn admitted in court that he falsified more than 1,700 social security disability applications that are worth as much as $550 million in lifetime benefits.
In 2011, a whistleblower first drew attention to the long-running scam, which included Mr. Conn, a stable of psychologists and doctors (including Alfred Adkins) who filed false reports, and a judge (David Daugherty) who approved the applications without even holding hearings. Mr. Conn, who faces a July sentencing date, has already been ordered to pay $31 million in civil penalties, restitution, and damages; Mr. Adkins and Mr. Daugherty have yet to have their days in court. In court documents, Mr. Conn accused Mr. Daugherty of masterminding the plot, after he allegedly approached Mr. Conn for a $5,000 payment and threaten to deny Mr. Conn’s petitions out of hand if payment wasn’t forthcoming. The two eventually agreed for the judge to receive $400 per approved application. As authorities began to close in, Mr. Conn destroyed most of his records and produced a false video to discredit the whistleblower. So far, government auditors have determined that about half of Mr. Conn’s cases were meritorious. As many as nine people committed suicide after they learned that their social security disability benefits might be terminated.
