“Law enforcement involved in probe of bogus Monterey Institute instructor” |
| Law enforcement involved in probe of bogus Monterey Institute instructor Posted: 25 Nov 2010 01:51 AM PST Click photo to enlarge Hillar  Now, law enforcement agencies are looking into Bill Hillar, the workshop instructor with whom MIIS severed ties last week after concluding he misrepresented his credentials. "We have had conversations with law enforcement about this entire matter," MIIS spokesman Jason Warburg said Wednesday. "We can't comment on any details of our cooperation, but certainly we have been in regular communication." The FBI and Multnomah County Sheriff's Office in Portland, Ore., have opened a fraud investigation into Hillar, who gave lectures and conducted workshops for several years for schools, civic groups and law enforcement agencies across the nation. "It's really an issue all over the country," Warburg said. Warburg declined to identify which law enforcement agencies contacted the Monterey school about Hillar, who dropped from sight after questions arose about his background. Multnomah County sheriff's spokesman Lt. Jose Martinez said his agency joined with the FBI in looking at Hillar after a detective who works human trafficking cases became aware of news reports about Hillar's credential problems. "The investigation is in a preliminary stage," Martinez said. Warburg said MIIS paid about $32,500 to Hillar over the past five years for two annual weekend workshops he gave about trafficking and counterterrorism issues.He said the school hasn't filed a complaint with a police agency, but he didn't rule out the possibility. "We're not going to comment on any future actions we might take until law enforcement has completed its investigation," he said. The Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that authorities in Portland were investigating Hillar. The paper said Hillar was scheduled to be a keynote speaker at the University of Portland for a conference on human trafficking, but didn't appear. Hillar claimed to have a doctorate degree from the University of Oregon. The school last week said he attended classes in the early 1970s but never completed a doctoral program. Warburg said MIIS has been contacted by several organizations "in a similar situation with Mr. Hillar" and has shared information with them. While some students criticized MIIS for employing Hillar without carefully vetting his credentials, Warburg predicted the graduate school will weather the fallout. "Obviously it's a concern and something we deeply regret," Warburg said. He noted that the school, which is part of Middlebury College in Vermont, apologized to students, faculty, staff and alumni. "I would say many ... have expressed satisfaction with the approach we have taken and the apology that was made," he said. "Certainly some students remain concerned." Larry Parsons can be reached at 646-4379 or lparsons@montereyherald.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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