Owner of Polygraph.com sentenced to two yrs for training clients to lie

Investing.com - Investing.com -- A former Oklahoma City police officer and owner of the company Polygraph.com was sentenced to two years in federal prison on Tuesday for helping train customers to fabricate and conceal crimes during lie-detector tests.

Douglas Williams, 69, of Norman, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to two charges of mail fraud and three charges of witness tampering in May. Williams had faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each count, totaling more than 100 years in jail and fines of $1.2 million.

Williams, the owner of the now defunct web site, admitted in the plea agreement to running an Internet-based business where he instructed clients to hide misconduct and other disqualifying information during federal suitability assessments, background investigations and internal agency investigations, according to court filings. In one particular case, Williams allegedly trained a federal officer posed as a client on how to conceal criminal activity in an agency's internal investigation, according to the indictment in the case. In another notable instance, Williams instructed a law enforcement officer posed as an applicant to lie and conceal criminal activity in a pre-employment polygraph.

"Lying, deception, and fraud cannot be allowed to influence the hiring of national-security and law-enforcement officials, particularly when it might affect the security of our borders," Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said in a statement upon Williams' guilty plea in May. "[The] conviction sends a message that we pursue those who attempt to corrupt law enforcement wherever and however they may try to do so."

Williams allegedly offered in-person training ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, as well as DVDs and other instructional information to help aid his clients in their pursuits. In October, 2012, federal authorities from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office ensnared Williams while conducting an investigation dubbed "Operation Lie Buster." At the time, an investigator posing as an agent with the Department of Homeland Security claimed he was being investigated by the agency for helping a friend enter the country with contraband. After providing the agent with instructions on how to evade a polygraph examination Williams received compensation for his services, according to the indictment.

The case was also investigated by the FBI's Oklahoma City division.