Don’t use Eric Conn’s KY victims as an excuse to gut Social Security | Opinion

In the immortal words of John Belushi in Animal House — “it’s not over until we say it’s over.” I was hoping the remnants of Eric Conn were over, after 10 tough years.

As we hit the 10-year anniversary of the date the Social Security Administration abruptly either pulled or threatened to pull the benefits of thousands of my vulnerable neighbors here in Appalachia, the Conn debates rages on.

Congressman Hal Rogers, who has been a reliable ally throughout the years, issued a press release that appeared to suggest that the ominous Elon Musk pronouncements that Social Security was a Ponzi scheme entitled the Trump administration to make cuts in the interest of ferreting out waste and fraud.

While Rogers’ statement did say he intended to protect Social Security, his statement referred to the $550 million in fraud associated with Conn’s scheming as an apparent justification to enable Musk’s crusade.

While the $550 million fraud number has been used extensively, it is demonstrably false. The number appears to be generated by the belief that everyone of the almost 4,000 former clients claims were fraudulent. This is utter nonsense. The nonsense had its roots in former Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn who falsely claimed that all of the former clients were in on the scam. What Coburn did was engage in a tactic known as demagogic lying.

In truth, after thousands of hearings, dozens of court cases, the SSA this past summer finally and grudgingly acknowledged the former clients were uninvolved in Conn’s scheming.

The real concern is that those who want to target Social Security as an unworthy entitlement are using the Conn debacle as evidence of fraud. Yes, there was fraud, but it was limited to one fraudster, and not 4,000. It certainly did not amount to $550 million.

The truth is that the real tragedy of the SSA 10-year assault on the former Conn clients resulted in many more truly disabled people losing their benefits, rather than individuals receiving benefits they were not entitled to. In fact that is one reason why every federal appellate court ruled the SSA’s initial round of mass hearings unconstitutional.

No lawyer in the history of this nation has done more damage to the legal profession and the rights of Social Security recipients than Eric Conn. It appears the consequences of his crimes are breathing new life into the quest to end social security as we know it. It’s not over.

Ned Pillersdorf is head of Pillersdorf Law Offices in Prestonsburg and has led the fight for the victims of Eric Conn.

This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 9:27 AM.