CHARLESTON – Legal Aid of West Virginia is working to help former clients of Eric C. Conn, the Kentucky attorney who is accused of helping obtain disability benefits for people who might not have actually qualified for them.
As investigators continue to determine which cases were fraudulent and which were not, the Social Security office has told many of Conn’s clients they may lose their Social Security benefits, according to Legal Aid of West Virginia.
“What we are looking at is can we find evidence to show that the person who had been represented by Conn in fact was disabled,” said Bruce Perrone, senior lawyer with Legal Aid of West Virginia. “Can we prove that now? Sometimes that can be very difficult years and years later, but we can find the evidence now to show that they in fact were disabled.”
Legal Aid of West Virginia is working to help former clients of Eric C. Conn.
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Perrone said it could be especially difficult to prove the clients’ case if Conn burned up the evidence. In some cases, however, Perrone said it may be possible to go back to the original doctor and collect evidence that can help the people who are actually disabled.
“The real victims in this situation are the people who are, in fact, disabled that are now being put through this because of Conn’s fraud,” Perrone said.
If people approach Legal Aid and believe they have a valid case, Perrone said they will dig into existing records to make sure they can help the person.,
“There's no dispute that Conn committed fraud and there are plenty of people who probably got benefit because of his fraud,” Perrone said. “We're not interested in helping people who aren't disabled. If people come to us, we'll make that clear up front.”
So far, however, Perrone said he is surprised that more people haven’t come for assistance.
“We were trying to put out the word that we are available for West Virginia residents who were represented by Mr. Conn who believe they are disabled to assess their case and determine whether there's enough to go forward,” Perrone said. “We have not gotten nearly as many as I think all of us were afraid of at the outset.”
Perrone said fraud is a terrible crime in many ways, but it’s especially difficult because disabled people are being told that they have to pay back thousands of dollars they have received throughout the years.
“It is it is important for justice to be served for people who are disabled to get help in showing that they are in fact disabled and leave the people who are not disabled to the fate they earned when they trusted Eric Conn,” Perrone said.