Wanted Lawyer Emailed Us Surrender Terms, Says Paper

Someone claiming to be a fugitive Kentucky lawyer at the center of a nearly $600 million Social Security fraud case has contacted a newspaper to spell out proposed terms of his surrender. Disability lawyer Eric C. Conn, who disappeared a month before his sentencing, faces an outstanding FBI warrant for his arrest. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports the terms received in an email to the newspaper included that Conn not be charged with crimes related to fleeing. Among other suggested terms for surrender include a request that they be made available for public review. Conn's attorney, Scott White, told the AP Sunday that he also received an email with some of the same details and is convinced it was from his client due in part to Conn's particular style of writing.

“My certainty is 99%,” says White, who claims the terms outlined in both the email to him and to the newspaper were identical, which "sealed it for me." A $20,000 reward has been offered for information leading authorities to Conn, who pleaded guilty in March to stealing from the federal government and bribing a judge. He faces up to 12 years in prison and has agreed to pay the government tens of millions of dollars. According to the email sent to the newspaper Friday, the person claiming to be Conn said he fled because he believed it was unjust that the two convicted judges related to his crime would receive less prison time. (More crime stories.)