Was I Wrongly Prosecuted? An Investigation into the Honest Services Wire Fraud Case That Changed My Life

 

Was I Wrongly Prosecuted?

An Investigation into the Honest Services Wire Fraud Case That Changed My Life

Introduction

Imagine waking up one morning to find your entire life under siege — not by the FBI or any federal law enforcement agency sworn to protect the Constitution, but by a private corporation acting as investigator, judge, and executioner. Imagine your home and business raided by a state-level task force that lacked jurisdiction to investigate federal crimes, while the actual federal authorities who should have verified the evidence never set foot on the scene. Imagine that the supposed “proof” of your guilt was collected, organized, and spun by a massive company desperate to protect its own brand image — and that this “evidence” was then rubber-stamped by a federal prosecutor hungry for an easy conviction.

Now imagine the next part: your lawyer tells you that if you fight the charges, you risk losing everything — your freedom, your family’s financial security, your reputation, your sanity. You’re told you face decades in prison for a so-called crime that never once drew a federal warrant, never once brought a federal agent to your door. Instead, you’re given a choice: sign a plea deal or see your entire life vaporized in court. This is how the system broke me. This is how it could break you.

My name is Bill Conley. In October 2000, I pleaded guilty to a single count of honest services wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. §1346. I was officially convicted in early 2001 and walked into federal prison on May 1, 2001. I pleaded guilty not because I believed I was guilty in my heart, but because I knew I was no match for the federal government’s power when hijacked by corporate influence and unchecked prosecutorial leverage.

How did I get here? Let me tell you how deep this injustice goes. It began when Hewlett-Packard (HP) decided to launch an internal investigation into one of its own employees — a man I’d known since 1985, both professionally and personally. Over the years, our families grew close. We vacationed together, shared meals, and watched our children grow. At some point, I gave him a small loan to help buy a used minivan when his finances were tight, just as any good friend might do. There was no demand for favors, no secret deal, no quid pro quo.

But when HP grew suspicious that this employee might not be “objective” in his work, they didn’t call the FBI. They didn’t involve the Department of Justice from the start. They called in their internal corporate security team to gather “evidence” — evidence that was later delivered to a California state high-tech task force, whose mission was investigating state-level cybercrimes and fraud, not enforcing federal wire fraud statutes.

This is where the cracks in the legal foundation began to show. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause…” [U.S. Const. amend. IV]. When the state task force raided my office, the warrant they presented authorized the seizure of three memory sticks. That’s it. But they didn’t stop at three memory sticks. They seized computers, business files, confidential communications, and client records far beyond the scope of that warrant — a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Yet instead of throwing out this tainted, overreaching evidence under the Exclusionary Rule — the rule that says illegally seized evidence is inadmissible (established in Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961)) — the U.S. Attorney’s Office embraced it as if it came from a pristine FBI investigation.

What’s more, the Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person shall be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” [U.S. Const. amend. V]. Due process means checks and balances — oversight — the assurance that the government cannot simply deprive you of your freedom on the word of a private corporation with its own agenda. Yet that’s exactly what happened: my constitutional right to due process was short-circuited by the fact that the FBI never opened a file, never verified a fact, never obtained an independent warrant, and never interviewed a single witness.

Even the Privacy Protection Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. § 2000aa), which limits government searches and seizures of materials held by people involved in disseminating information, was brushed aside. Some of my seized files included private communications and records that should have been protected. HP and the state task force bulldozed that line. The DOJ just looked the other way.

The final blow came from the way the plea deal was handled. Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, a plea must be voluntary and based on factual guilt. Mine was neither. It was a surrender under the threat of a prosecutorial hammer: Plead or face decades behind bars. That is not negotiation. That is state-backed coercion.

So here I stand — not as a man denying his choices, but as a man telling the world how this happened, why it happened, and why it must never happen again. This isn’t just my fight anymore. It’s your fight too — because if corporate giants, state enforcers, and federal prosecutors can collude to sidestep your constitutional rights, then none of us are safe.

Part 1: Understanding Honest Services Wire Fraud

At the core of my case was 18 U.S.C. §1346, a short, vague statute defining a “scheme or artifice to defraud” to include schemes to deprive another of the “intangible right of honest services.”

Originally, this clause was intended to catch public officials who accepted bribes or kickbacks but slipped through gaps in existing laws. But over the years, prosecutors expanded it into a catch-all hammer to criminalize private workplace behavior, normal friendships, and even unwritten favors.

What does “honest services” mean in real life? If you help a longtime friend in need, is that fraud? If you take their family on vacation, is that a bribe? If you give a personal loan to someone you trust, are you secretly buying their loyalty?

In my situation, the honest answer was simple: we were friends. We supported each other. There was no corrupt deal, no payment for influence. But because HP didn’t like the appearance of this relationship, they painted it as something sinister. And the federal prosecutor eagerly latched on.

Part 2: The Investigation That Wasn’t Federal

The FBI never showed up. There was no federal search warrant. There were no federal agents verifying what was taken from my office or how it was used. The entire raid came from a state-level high-tech task force, which had no legal standing to gather evidence for a federal wire fraud case.

When the task force raided my office, they presented a narrow warrant: three memory sticks. Instead, they hauled out full towers, confidential client files, correspondence, and much more. That’s unconstitutional. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The Exclusionary Rule (from Mapp v. Ohio) makes clear that evidence gathered outside the scope of a valid warrant must be thrown out — yet none of it was.

Instead, the Department of Justice took HP’s story, wrapped in state-level packaging, and prosecuted me as if federal agents had done the work.

Part 3: Prosecutorial Overreach and Coercion

Once the “evidence” arrived on the U.S. Attorney’s desk, the system’s next weapon came out: the plea bargain threat. Under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, a guilty plea must be knowing, voluntary, and based in fact. In practice, prosecutors bend this standard by threatening maximum sentences so terrifying that most people fold, guilty or not.

I was told: Take the plea or risk decades behind bars. Who wouldn’t sign? The system counts on your fear to make you surrender. They knew I didn’t have millions to fight a long court battle against a narrative built by corporate security guards and a state task force acting far outside its lane.

Part 4: The Law Changed — Too Late for Me

A decade later, in Skilling v. United States (2010), the Supreme Court ruled that honest services fraud only covers clear bribes or kickbacks. No bribes? No crime. In McDonnell v. United States (2016), the Court doubled down: favors or gifts must be tied to an official act — a concrete misuse of power. None existed in my case.

The highest court admitted what I had claimed from day one: I never committed a federal crime.

Part 5: The Human Cost

The day I walked into federal prison, I wasn’t the only one who suffered. My family carried the shame. My children felt the stigma. My professional reputation, which took decades to build, vanished overnight. Even when you leave prison, the scar never fades: it lingers on applications, background checks, and news archives.

I am not the same man who went in. I am a man who has learned how fragile “justice” can be when corporations and prosecutors collude unchecked.

Part 6: What Needs to Change

Here’s what must happen now:
✅ Federal charges must come with federal evidence. No FBI file? No DOJ case.
✅ Corporate investigations must be independently verified. No more corporate security teams dictating who goes to prison.
✅ Plea bargaining must be reformed. No more threats of “decades in prison” for leverage.
✅ Honest Services Wire Fraud must be repealed or rewritten. The Supreme Court’s rulings need to be locked in by Congress.
✅ Judges must demand real oversight. No evidence from state raids exceeding a warrant should ever be used federally.

Conclusion

It has been more than twenty years since I pled guilty to a crime that, by today’s legal standards, was not even a crime. I have rebuilt my life from the ground up, but the cost is carved into me every single day. The Fourth Amendment, the Fifth Amendment, the Privacy Protection Act, the Exclusionary Rule — these protections mean nothing if corporations and ambitious prosecutors can break them without consequence.

If what happened to me can happen to one person, it can happen to anyone. Our justice system depends on trust — trust that prosecutors will follow the law, trust that constitutional protections apply to everyone, not just those who can afford the best lawyers or media coverage.

Justice is not convenient. Justice is not cheap. It is not meant to serve corporations at the expense of individual citizens. It must be earned through federal oversight, fair procedure, and respect for the Bill of Rights. When prosecutors cut corners to secure quick headlines, when corporations are allowed to drive federal charges with unverified “evidence,” and when judges fail to question how that evidence came to be, we have all lost.

I stand today not as a victim, but as a warning. My fight is not about me anymore. It’s about making sure that when your name, your freedom, your reputation are on the line, the government must follow the law — every word of it.

If we fail to demand reform, we invite abuse. If we remain silent, we guarantee it will happen again. If we shrug and say “It could never be me” we are only fooling ourselves.

So I speak out. I write. I stand up for the next person who thinks the Constitution will protect them. Because it didn’t protect me, not when it mattered most.

My name is Bill Conley. I survived the system once. Now I fight for a system that no one should have to survive at all. Justice must be just — or it is nothing at all.

By Bill Conley
Certified Life Coach | Advocate | #1 Life Coach in America

If you’d like to understand more about what really happened behind the scenes, you can read my book, Behind Closed Doors: HP’s Dirty Little Secret, available now on Amazon. Simply type in my name — Bill Conley — and you’ll find it.

I also invite you to read my companion book, The Prison Diaries: While I Was Walking, God Was Talking, and This Is What He Said, which I wrote while serving my sentence. Both books shed light on my journey through injustice, faith, and resilience.

You can find both of these books on Amazon — just search Bill Conley and they’ll be there waiting for you.

About the Author
Bill Conley is a dedicated storyteller, life coach, and faith-filled guide whose heartfelt children’s stories have brought smiles and timeless lessons to families everywhere. As the author of hundreds of moral-rich tales, Bill believes in planting seeds of kindness, gratitude, responsibility, and faith in the hearts of children while they’re young. His signature style weaves simple yet powerful truths into colorful adventures with animal heroes, each story crafted to teach values that last a lifetime.

Bill’s passion for writing comes from his own journey, years of experience as a father, grandfather, mentor, and devoted husband. He understands that children need stories that do more than entertain; they need stories that shape character, spark imagination, and open conversations between parents and kids.

Whether he’s writing about a brave little beaver, a wise turtle, a fast cheetah, or a gentle cloud that forgets how to rain, Bill pours his love for faith, family, and old-fashioned values into every word. He knows that small lessons today become big strengths tomorrow.

In addition to his books, Bill is a certified life coach who has helped countless people build stronger relationships, grow in faith, and navigate life’s storms with confidence and hope. His words encourage children and grown-ups alike to be kind, stay positive, honor commitments, and always believe they are enough.

When he’s not writing, Bill enjoys spending time with his three daughters and two grandchildren, sharing laughter and lessons across generations. He also finds joy in serving his church and community, living out the very values he writes about so passionately.

Bill Conley’s greatest hope is that every story will help families build warm memories together—reading aloud, asking questions, and inspiring children to grow into caring, courageous, and thoughtful adults.

He invites you to keep reading, keep talking, and keep believing that the smallest good things we do can change the world for the better.