HE WAS known as “Mr Social Security”. Eric Conn, a disability lawyer fromPikeville, Kentucky, gained notoriety in his impoverished part of Appalachia for his ubiquitous billboards and flashy TV commercials, which featured Rolls-Royces, beauty queens and a 19-foot replica of the Lincoln Memorial. But what earned Mr Conn his nickname was his uncanny ability to secure Social Security payouts for nearly 100% of his clients. Mr Conn’s luck has since run out. In March, the 56-year-old lawyer pleaded guilty to defrauding the government of $550m in federal disability benefits, the largest case of Social Security fraud in the country’s history.
Although scams like these outrage lawmakers and taxpayers alike, they represent just a small fraction of the billions in excessive, unnecessary and illegal payments made by the federal government. In the past decade these improper payments have increased by more than 250% (see chart). Donald Trump has vowed to cut them in half over ten years. Past efforts...Continue reading
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