They were going to have Hillary in office to protect and promote them. It was their go-for-the-gusto career move to help Hillary ‘get’ Trump.
After the election their only hope was finding enough dirt on Trump to protect themselves with, before the fine-grinding process we see now, caught up to them. Obviously they came up short, and now they are facing the grinder.
In other words, they were aiding and abetting a fraud for money. If one of your "average Americans" does that sort of thing, they slam the cell door on you and a succession of guards laugh and give you crap for several years.