Former Shelton Resident Pleads Guilty in Computer Intrusion Fraud Scheme

Billie Conley Jr., 46, formerly of Shelton, pleaded guilty June 1 before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to a fraud offense stemming from a computer intrusion scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

The plea covers a single count of fraud linked to unauthorized computer access. Conley now faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines will depend on loss amount, number of victims and other enhancements still to be calculated by the U.S. Probation Office. No restitution figure has been made public.

The guilty plea changes Conley’s legal status from defendant to convicted felon effective immediately. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled; once set, it will require Conley to appear again in the same New Haven federal courthouse. The conviction also activates collateral consequences including potential supervised release of up to three years and permanent loss of certain civil rights under Connecticut and federal law.

Downstream, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut must now prepare a presentence investigation report and submit a sentencing memorandum. Judge Bolden will then determine the final term of imprisonment, restitution to any identified victims of the intrusion scheme, and forfeiture of any proceeds.

The case will be formally closed only after full compliance with the eventual judgment. Federal prosecutors may also use information from this investigation to pursue related charges against unindicted co-conspirators if evidence supports further action.

This marks the latest federal cyber-fraud conviction secured by the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Connecticut. The department has pursued similar intrusion-and-fraud cases across multiple districts in the past 24 months, each ending in guilty pleas that produced multiyear prison sentences and victim restitution orders.