The man who billed himself as a former special forces officer pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with a scheme to lie about his military experience and academic credentials in order to get jobs teaching and training.

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William Hillar, 66, of Millersville, Md., claimed that he served in Asia, the Middle East and Central and South America. He had taught counterterrorism training sessions and gave lectures on human trafficking, among other issues.

His alleged story was also used as the basis for the Liam Neeson movie “Taken,” in which an ex-CIA officer takes on a human trafficking ring to rescue his daughter from sexual slavery.

“William G. Hillar lived a lie and based his teaching career on military experience he did not have and credentials that he did not earn,” said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein in a statement. “He was never a colonel, never served in the U.S. Army or the Special Forces, never was deployed to exotic locales and never received training in counter-terrorism and psychological warfare while in the armed forces.”

According to Hillar’s plea, Hillar was paid more than $171,000 for teaching workshops, giving lectures and conducting training on drug trafficking, counter terrorism and other weighty topics.

Hillar had falsely claimed that he was a retired colonel with the Special Forces, had training in explosives and psychological warfare and also that he received a Ph.D from the University of Oregon.

He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He has agreed to pay restitution of $171,415 and perform at least 500 hours of community service.