Ned Pillersdorf
Prestonsburg attorney Ned Pillersdorf recently received the American Bar Associations Pro Bono Award for his effort in assisting the former clients of attorney Eric C. Conn who lost their benefits due to fraud.
“ I almost didn’t accept the award,” Pillersdorf said. “It isn’t about me, it’s about the volunteers and these people. I only accepted the award on the condition that I’m accepting it on behalf of the volunteer network.”
Since 2015, Pillersdorf, along with volunteer lawyers from all over the country, have been representing former Conn clients to either get their benefits reinstated or help avoid losing them. Even though the battle has been going on since then, Pillersdorf says it continues to this day.
“Here’s the deal: I got an award through the ABA, but I would give it back today if they would stop these hearings,” Pillersdorf said. “I have done fifteen of these hearings this month, and there are two more next week. These hearings are traumatizing for these people.
Pillersdorf said the hearings are untimely.
“The hearings are along these lines: ‘Can you prove you were disabled in 2008?’ The statute that entitles the SSA to do these hearings says they must act immediately when they know there is fraud, and they knew about Conn in 2006 and 2007” he said. “What happened is when the chief judge in the Huntington office found out about the fraud, he joined in. Conn was bribing him too.
“We filed a lawsuit, that is pending to this day, to get these hearings shut down” Pillersdorf said. “They are untimely, and we are trying to get them shut down, that’s where we currently are.”
Pillersdorf said that although they won in federal court on behalf of the Conn clients, and the format of the hearings was declared unconstitutional, some things have not changed.
“The rules may be fair, but it is still the same deal with trying to prove you were disabled in 2007-2008,” he said.
Pillersdorf said files containing that information for the former Conn clients are currently hard to find. “Conn had a four day bonfire, in which he destroyed many files” he said. “When we finally got stuff from Conn’s office, one third was intact, one third was partially intact and one third were skeletons.
Pillersdorf said other methods could be taken to bring an end to this eight year ordeal.
“I believe anyone associated with Conn is perceived to be a ‘faker,’” Pillersdorf said. “If someone is on Social Security, they can be put on what is called CDR (continuing disability reviews), which is when the SSA does not think you are disabled and they send you to their doctor. I have said since day one why don’t the SSA just CDR these people, rather than doing these hearings?
“Long story short, we have around 2,000 people who are scared to death that they may be put through these hearings,” Pillersdorf said. “As far as the SSA is concerned, they are going to go forward.
At this point in time, Pillersdorf said finding volunteer lawyers is key.
“If it was 200, me and AppalRed could handle it, but 2,000 is too big of a number” he said. “So, I am out recruiting volunteer lawyers. The plan is to contact every law school in the country and have law students help with these hearings. Students who helped in 2018 were terrific, such as Ryan Mosley. I believe he won eight hearings in a row.
“I hope these hearings don’t happen,” Pillersdorf said. “If these hearings are shut down, these people are not at risk of losing their benefits. Then, we will have the ‘Forgotten 500,’ 500 former Conn clients who have been without benefits for six years. There is a process to get those folks’ benefits back however. Then, hopefully, we are done.”
The award, he said, belongs to everyone involved in the effort to help Conn’s former clients.
“I’ll give the award back and shut up if they will stop these hearings,” Pillersdorf said. “This has been going on for eight years, leave these people alone.”
