Bill HIllar, one time keynote speaker in Coos Bay arrested in Maryland

Bill HIllar lived a life of fraud and deceit for decades and recently spoke in Coos Bay on behalf of the Zonta Foundation to raise awareness and funds about human trafficking.

For the last 10 years, Hillar taught, led workshops, speeches and seminars nationwide, often telling elaborate personal stories that generated a large, emotional response. At the time of hire about eight years ago, Hillar’s resume displayed he had worked with the FBI, was in the army, had obtained various degrees and more.

According to a press release, his personal website – which has been taken down – had a bio page that claimed, “William G. Hillar is a retired Colonel of the U.S. Army Special Forces. He has served in Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America, where his diverse training and experiences included tactical counter-terrorism, explosive ordnance, emergency medicine and psychological warfare.” It also stated that Hillar “holds a B.A. in Psychology, and M.A. in Education, a Ph.D. in Health Education, and an honorary Doctorate in Intercultural Relations.”

U.S Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said most, if not all of it, was under false pretenses.

It came to an this wee when Hillar was arrested at his Maryland home.

Hillar appeared before a federal magistrate Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and was ordered to be detained after he was unable to post a $50,000 bond and arrange for a third-party custodian. He was taken into custody at his Millersville, Md., home nestled below hilly woods.

“The complaint alleges that (Hillar) was living a lie and basing his entire career on experiences he did not have and credentials he did not earn,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. “He was never a colonel, never served in the U.S. Army, never was deployed to exotic locales and never received training in counter-terrorism and psychological warfare.”

Hillar had used the elaborate ruse for more than a decade to get work teaching, leading workshops, giving speeches and conducting training for public and private sector clients, federal officials said.

Hillar’s alleged masquerade unraveled in November after several MIIS students, military veterans themselves, began to question the authenticity of things he said about his military exploits and knowledge of international human trafficking.