HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Social Security Administration reportedly is reviewing disability benefits that were awarded in hundreds of cases connected to Kentucky attorney Eric Conn and former Social Security administrative judge David B. Daugherty.
The Herald-Dispatch recently learned Social Security officials mailed notices, including some suspending benefit payments, to area claimants while the review takes place. The mailings reportedly affect several hundred people, according to sources.
Congressional investigators have alleged Daugherty assigned himself cases and awarded benefits to hundreds of applicants without justification, while Conn relied upon medical experts who provided false or fraudulent testimony to assist in Daugherty’s decisions.
A spokesman for Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General’s Office said last week that investigation into alleged wrongdoing in Social Security’s Huntington office is ongoing, but deferred comment to the Social Security Administration regarding any letters that may have been sent to recipients of disability benefits. He cited office policy concerning open cases in declining further comment.
The Social Security Administration’s national press office has provided no response to repeated inquiries since midday Friday.
The allegations included in congressional reports from 2013 coincide with Conn’s earning of $3.9 million in attorneys’ fees in 2010…