From the Associated Press:
A Kentucky lawyer facing prison time for a scheme to defraud the government of nearly $600 million in federal disability payments took another legal hit Wednesday when a judge ordered him to pay nearly $31.5 million in damages to the government and two whistleblowers.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar was the latest fallout for Eric C. Conn, the self-proclaimed "Mr. Social Security" who lived in a palatial home and was a frequent world traveler. Thapar ordered Conn to pay $12 million in damages and $19 million in penalties. The penalties represent the maximum $11,000 assessed for each fraudulent claim identified.
"He doesn't have those kind of assets anymore," said Scott White, one of Conn's attorneys.
Conn pleaded guilty recently to stealing from the Social Security Administration and bribing a federal judge. ...
As part of that plea deal, Conn is to pay $5.7 million to the government, reflecting the amount of fraudulent fees he received, and reimburse to Social Security $46 million it paid in disability claims based on fraudulent information Conn used. ...
Scum
ReplyDeleteHey, but as you know, there is no fraud involved with SS claims...
ReplyDeleteFunny that this con artist's name is Mr. Conn.
ReplyDelete@9:22
ReplyDeleteNobody has ever said there is no fraud in SS claims. They have said there is minimal fraud in SS claims, particular in comparison to the wrongful denials evidenced by the award rates being cut in half in recent decades (yet the estimated fraud rate has remained stable) and in comparison to the wrongful underpayments as reported by the Government Accountability Office.
Put simply, fraud will always exist but denial of benefits to the disabled is far more egregious and far more common.
I find the obsession with fraud and social security interesting when we have a financial sector that thrives on fraud and high speed front running of markets. Some international wise guys even manipulated the libor. Those guys don't get prosecuted nearly as much as rewarded with taxpayer bailouts. It would be interesting to know how much the commander and chief's business organization has used bribes, payoffs and kickbacks in it's business activities, particularly in some of the seedier places they do business. Quite a double standard I would say. And Conn is a scumbag. His commercials and marketing were narcissistic and insane. I'm surprised he didn't run for president in 2016.
ReplyDelete