The FBI have opened a fraud investigation into human trafficking and counter terrorism speaker, Bill Hillar.
Besides the FBI, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Portland, Ore., has opened a fraud investigation. Hillar had been scheduled this month to be a keynote speaker at a University of Portland conference on human trafficking but he did not show up.
Hillar spoke in Coos County last month as a keynote speaker for Zonta. His story began to fall apart when military veterans questioned the authenticity of his service.
…a special forces group said it spent the past year tracking Bill Hillar.
…They aren’t out for blood like some may think. Hinton said it’s all about doing their homework on potential frauds like Hillar and letting the truth be known.“You got to remember how small we are and to not know a colonel with special forces? No one knew him.”
“The nail in the coffin was the Freedom of Information Act from Army operations Command…I mean this is a Full Bird Colonel and no record on him? It’s like that’s it!”
Hillar was scheduled to speak at the University of Portland later this month.
Along with frequent speeches to law enforcement groups across the country, Hillar has taught workshops on human trafficking and terrorism at the Monterey Institute of International Studies twice a year since 2005, most recently last month. Students at the institute recently challenged what Hillar said were his credentials as a retired colonel in U.S. Army Special Forces who had earned a doctorate from the University of Oregon.
Human trafficking is a very real and very serious problem and Hillar’s alleged efforts to capitalize on society’s very real concerns should not discourage people from supporting a cause to end it.
Hillar may not be up and up but he may still have brought some badly needed attention to this horrible crime of slavery. Hopefully, his talks raised more money than his expenses might have eaten up.
Coos County has acknowledged this. In our last human trafficking meeting, we discussed this and we hope that it doesn’t draw away from the fact that human trafficking does exist.
Absolutely right.
It doesn’t appear Coos County is going to acknowledge that fact though.
I suppose the pom poms are not needed after the deed is done.
I’m curious how much he sucked from us while he was here. What a shame for these groups to work so hard thinking they’re doing something positive for their community and to find this out.
Ouch.