Ex-employee pleads not guilty to helping Eric Conn escape

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) – An ex-employee of fugitive Kentucky lawyer Eric Conn has pleaded not guilty to charges of helping the attorney escape before his sentencing in a Social Security fraud case.

A federal indictment alleges Curtis Lee Wyatt opened a bank account Conn used to transfer money out of the country and bought a truck for Conn’s use in fleeing.

Wyatt even allegedly tested security at the U.S.-Mexico border at Conn’s direction.

The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Wyatt was allowed to remain free before trial on home incarceration with electronic monitoring by a U.S. magistrate judge on Wednesday. His trial is scheduled for Dec. 18.

Conn disappeared in June after pleading guilty to stealing from the federal government and bribing a judge in the more than $500 million Social Security fraud case.