A former Shelton man who operated an information technology consulting firm pleaded guilty to wire fraud stemming from a computer intrusion scheme, according to David Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, special agent in charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI.
Billie Conley Jr., 46, pleaded guilty Monday, June 1, before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to a fraud offense stemming from the scheme.
Conley pleaded guilty to wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. He also has agreed to pay restitution.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Conley owned and operated Ridgefield Tech LLC, through which he offered information technology consulting services. In approximately September 2023, the owner (Individual-A) of a funeral services business (Company-A) hired Conley to assist her with setting up a computer network and video surveillance system for Company-A. When Conley installed Company-A’s computer network, he also installed, without authorization, software that permitted him to remotely access the network.
Shortly after Conley installed the computer network, Company-A began experiencing a variety of service issues that required Individual-A to contract with Conley to resolve for a fee. Conley offered Individual-A an “IT Service Agreement” that would allow Ridgefield Tech to provide computer services to Company-A monthly beginning in February 2024 in lieu of a “pay per service call” type of service, but Individual-A declined the service contract. Between January and September 2024, Conley remotely disabled Company-A’s computer network on 21 separate days, which resulted in Company-A being unable to conduct business on those days.
In August 2024, Individual-A hired another company (Company-B) to resolve Company-A’s computer network issues. Company-B was unable to regain control over much of the network infrastructure that Conley had installed, and Individual-A paid Company-B for labor and replacement equipment to recover the computer network.
The investigation also revealed that, between June and August 2024, Conley unlawfully used Company-A’s bank account to make approximately $9,070 in payments to companies he and Ridgefield Tech owed money.
Conley has been detained in state custody on unrelated charges since Dec. 2, 2024. A sentencing date is not scheduled.
