CHARLESTON -- The attorney accused in the West Virginia Social Security scandal was disbarred from Veterans' Appeals Court in 2002.
Eric C. Conn, the attorney who is currently involved in the West Virginia Social Security scandal along with Judge David Daugherty, resigned from practicing law in the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans during an investigation regarding misconduct.
According to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans records, Conn submitted his resignation on Sept. 30, 2002, "in lieu of further investigatory proceedings on allegations of professional misconduct."
Conn, who is an attorney in Kentucky, was also investigated by federal officials in May 2002 for the alleged professional misconduct.
Conn's agreement to cease all practices before the Veterans Appeal Court provided the court with protection from any repetition of such conduct, according to court records.
Daugherty, a Huntington administrative law judge, was placed on leave while the Social Security Administration investigated the high number of social security applications he had granted during the first half of the year.
Daugherty had said it was simply a coincidence that he happened to approve all of the cases in the first half of the year, claiming that attorneys have been extremely well-prepared and had figured out how to bring forth cases that were hard to deny.
Conn was the attorney on a large number of the cases Daugherty approved.
After the scandal came to light, Chief Administrative Judge Charlie Andrus stepped down. Andrus was Daugherty's supervisor.