FAQ: Was Mike Shirley actually guilty of “Honest Services Fraud” just for charging high fees?
No. And that’s not just opinion — it’s what the record shows.
Let’s start with what Honest Services Fraud really is. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly said this law is only about bribes or kickbacks — not about running a business, charging market rates, or having a friendship with someone in government. In Skilling v. United States (2010) and later in Percoco and Ciminelli (2023), the Court made it clear: no bribe, no crime.
That didn’t stop federal prosecutors from trying to stretch the law, as SCOTUS warned against doing. When they couldn’t prove any bribe or kickback — because there wasn’t one — they switched theories. They told the jury that Mike, who ran a small communications and PR firm, was somehow a “de facto public official.” Why? Because he charged line-item markups and overhead, just like every other consulting firm in America.
Here’s the problem: under Percoco, a private person can only be treated as a “public official” if he actually controls or directs government decisions. The evidence at trial showed Shirley did none of that. He didn’t sign checks, didn’t approve contracts, didn’t control the budget. He provided professional PR services — designing mailers, coordinating tech support, and advising on public messaging. That’s it.
Even the judge, during trial, commented that Shirley’s business practice “sounds like capitalism to me.”
To put this in perspective: most consultants, whether PR firms or government contractors, charge market-based rates that include overhead and subcontracted costs. It’s normal. In fact, the Department of Justice itself caps outside consultant rates at $650 per day — about $13,000 per month — nearly identical to what Shirley’s company billed ($12,500/month).
No county auditor, employee, or vendor ever raised a red flag about these invoices while the contract was in place. It wasn’t until years later — after former Seminole County, Fla., Tax Collector Joel Greenberg was under indictment for stalking and child sex trafficking and trying to cut a deal — that prosecutors decided to call it a “kickback scheme.”
But that theory collapsed on the stand. The government’s key witness, Joseph Ellicott, admitted he had no knowledge of any bribe or illegal arrangement. When asked on cross-examination whether Shirley ever bribed or offered anything improper, Ellicott pled the Fifth — more than 60 times, including on questions that could have supported the government’s case and on Ellicott's criminal conduct that he was never charged with in exchange for testimony. The jury never heard any evidence of an illegal payment, promise, or exchange.
That’s not how bribery works — and it’s not what Honest Services Fraud covers.
Imagine this:
A small business does work for a county office and charges normal consulting rates.
Years later, someone who’s in trouble with the law tries to save himself by claiming “it was all corrupt.”
No one can point to a bribe, a promise, or even a favor — but the government presses forward anyway.
That’s what happened here.
Even worse, the jury wasn’t required to make any specific finding that Shirley was a “public official” or that a bribe or kickback occurred. That’s exactly the kind of open-ended, vague theory the Supreme Court struck down in Percoco and Ciminelli. Those cases warn that prosecutors can’t use broad “honest services” charges to criminalize ordinary business conduct or personal relationships.
Bottom line:
1. Shirley wasn’t a government official. He ran a business providing PR and tech services.
2. No one testified to any bribe, payment, or quid pro quo.
3. Even the government’s witness (Elicott) wouldn’t back the claim — he pled the Fifth.
4. The prices were fair, legal, and even within federal guidelines.
If charging normal consulting fees and doing honest work is a crime, then half the private sector is in trouble.
As the judge himself said: “Sounds like capitalism to me.”
A 7-plus year prison sentence is a miscarriage of justice. Let's fix this by freeing Mike Shirley.